An elderly man living with Parkinson’s discovered a shivering senior dog at his gate — and somehow, their unsteady bodies became a source of calm for one another.

handwriting, the way my coffee cup rattled against the saucer, the frustration of buttons that turned every shirt into a struggle. My children worried. My doctor adjusted medications. My neighbors politely looked away when I held onto fence posts longer than necessary.

I told everyone I was managing.

Most days, that was close enough to the truth.

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