Love and qualifications are not always the same thing. And that's a lesson I wish more dementia caregivers could hear without guilt. According to the Alzheimer's Association, nearly 13 million Americans provide unpaid dementia care, contributing almost 20 billion hours each year—care valued at more than $446 billion. Yet AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving report that only about 22 percent of family caregivers receive any formal training.

Years ago, my mother cared for me through a life-changing medical setback. Today, she doesn't remember any of it. That reality helped remind me of an important truth: caregiving was never meant to be about recognition. It's about something deeper.