because of the slowness of the deterioration, you don’t realize that you’re no longer fine. You continue thinking, I’m fine, and you keep chugging along even though the small speck of sadness in your heart has grown quietly into a boulder, without you even noticing. When your kids call, you tell them you’re fine, and because they’re busy and have a million things to do and you’re just one of many things on their list they have to check off, they believe you.
