I noticed the Quality Supports Specialist from our Area Agency on Aging wiping away tears as Dan walked off the stage after delivering his speech at Older Michiganians Day (OMD).
She leaned toward me and said how meaningful his words were.
In that moment, I was reminded why we continue making the trip to Lansing year after year.
We do not go because advocacy is easy or because we enjoy navigating politics. We go because the issues discussed at OMD — especially caregiving, disability support, and aging services — are deeply connected to our lives as a married couple living with Multiple Sclerosis.
What felt especially surreal this year was realizing how long we have been attending this annual advocacy event.
When we first started acvocating shortly after we married in 2005, Dan was 32 and I was 30. We used to joke that we were probably the youngest people on the lawn outside the Capitol during Older Michiganians Day. We certainly did not think of ourselves as “older” Michiganians.
One of the first slogans we learned was, “My home is MI-Choice.”
OMD became our introduction to advocacy around disability services. It gave us one of our first opportunities to speak up for funding for the Michigan MI Choice Medicaid Waiver Program, which helps provide caregiving support so Dan can continue working full time and so I can continue living in my own home.
Now, more than 20 years later, we looked around and realized something we never expected back then:
We ARE older Michiganians.
This year’s slogan was, “Age in place with style and grace!”
Honestly, that is exactly what we hope to do.
Organized through Michigan’s network of Area Agencies on Aging, this empowering day brings together older adults, family caregivers, advocates, and people living with disabilities to speak directly with lawmakers about policies shaping daily life.
When Dan and I first attended, we understood the importance of healthcare, accessibility, and disability support. But over the years, family caregiving became woven into nearly every part of our marriage — our schedules, routines, and future.
Like so many caregivers, we learned to keep moving forward because that is what love often requires.
Somewhere along the way, advocacy became part of how we cared for each other.
That is part of why Dan’s speech resonated so deeply.
Full disclosure: I serve on a steering committee connected to MI Choice and suggested Dan as a speaker on legislative issues affecting family caregivers. Everyone immediately agreed because they know how seriously he takes both advocacy and his role as my husband and primary caregiver.
This year’s priorities included strengthening support for family caregivers, protecting home and community-based services, and continuing conversations about proposals like a caregiver tax credit.
These are not abstract policy discussions. They are lifelines that often determine the difference between independence and uncertainty.
Events like OMD matter because they move conversations beyond statistics and remind elected officials that these policies affect real people, real marriages, and real families.
Caregiving does not pause when the speeches end or the Capitol lawn empties. It continues the next morning and every morning after that.
That is why Dan’s words connected emotionally with so many people in attendance. They were not polished political messaging written from a distance. They reflected our actual lives.
Yes, I was proud watching him speak, but I was equally moved watching the reactions afterward. Seeing someone who works within these systems every day become emotional reminded me that stories still matter.
As we drove home from Lansing later that day, I found myself thinking back to those early years when we attended our first OMD as newlyweds who felt far too young to belong there.
Living with disability and caregiving changes your perspective over time.
And somewhere along the way, we became older Michiganians after all.
