The record

The gap: six months caring for a parent is the most landmark-rich time a person has. A calendar of six crossed-out months, a figure feeding a parent in bed, a checklist of care, meds, appointments, crises, laughter and goodbyes, and a résumé whose work history reads unemployed. The record erases the years memory keeps.

Six months caring for a parent: the most crowded months of a life. The résumé calls it unemployed.

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