When people think about caring for someone living with dementia, they often think about the visible tasks. Preparing meals. Giving medication. Helping someone get dressed. Attending appointments. Going for a walk. Making a cup of tea. All of these things matter. But after spending long periods living alongside and caring for people with dementia, I have come to believe that some of the most important parts of care are the things that would never appear on a list of tasks. The

Today I discovered that a white powder that had been spread around the house and garden was not, as I had hoped, a deterrent to ants. It was an insecticide. As I stood holding the container, I felt a wave of sadness. Not because I am particularly attached to ants, but because it reminded me how differently we can view the world around us. For many people, ants are a nuisance. They enter homes, appear on kitchen surfaces, and seem to arrive in endless numbers. The natural resp