So, I was watching a blind audition from The Voice, where a young 22-year-old woman shares that she’s the full-time caregiver for her mother, who was diagnosed with dementia in her 50s. I’m sharing this because most people associate some conditions with ageing, but that isn’t always the case. This is what made me think of families like mine, where the child, aka me, has a disability which, due to mobility issues, is fully dependent physically on someone else. The kicker is here, since my mum has also acquired a physical disability after a home accident, and it isn’t as easy as it sounds to get a carer for many reasons.
I forgot the woman’s name, but for her audition she sang This Woman’s Work because it’s one of her mum’s favourites. The original song is by Kate Bush, and this verse really hits: “I should be crying, but I just can’t let it show”. We have been saying for decades now that everyone should be able to show their emotions, but my question is: with this world full of everything, are we giving the space to do so? Because in reality, everything else comes before.
This Woman’s Work Lyrics:
Pray God you can cope
I stand outside this woman’s work
This woman’s world
Ooh, it’s hard on the man
Now his part is over
Now starts the craft of the father
I know you have a little life in you yet
I know you have a lot of strength left
I know you have a little life in you yet
I know you have a lot of strength left
I should be crying, but I just can’t let it show
I should be hoping, but I can’t stop thinking
Of all the things I should’ve said
That I never said
All the things we should’ve done
That we never did
All the things I should’ve given
But I didn’t
Oh, darling, make it go
Make it go away
Give me these moments back
Give them back to me
Give me that little kiss
Give me your hand
I know you have a little life in you yet
I know you have a lot of strength left
I know you have a little life in you yet
I know you have a lot of strength left
I should be crying, but I just can’t let it show
I should be hoping, but I can’t stop thinking
Of all the things we should’ve said
That were never said
All the things we should’ve done
That we never did
All the things that you needed from me
All the things that you wanted for me
All the things that I should’ve given but I didn’t
Oh, darling, make it go away
Just make it go away now
You = Us:
They are the same but with a different name
But that doesn’t mean we don’t know or understand
Because we are all human
Made from the same original cells
Even if some of us are slower or faster