Post 10: Patience in Crisis: Lessons in Quiet Love)

During the Pandemic, Mike’s son was living with him, watching his consumption escalate with an eerie, helpless detachment. How do you emotionally process watching someone you care about battle themselves like this? Each day descending another rung into something they can’t climb out of alone?

I imagine that it was confusing for Noah to watch his father retreat into that cycle of self-destruction. Did he feel responsible? Did he feel guilt? Did he wonder if there was something he could say or do to pull his father back from the edge? He had learned that love was sometimes about patience, about waiting for the right moment instead of rushing to fix things that felt too broken.

Noah had a sense that words might shatter the fragile peace they had, so instead, he offered his quiet, unwavering support, by showing up in small ways, without judgement.

The pandemic trapped us all in our own spheres, locked away from anyone who might offer a hand, leaving us to fend for ourselves against fears and doubts that grew louder in the silence.

Their home was a pandemic within a pandemic. But we will soon learn just how intelligent, strong and loving Noah was. He would become Mike’s lifeline. He prepared himself, knowing a time would come when he would have to reach out. He spent hours researching about addiction and recovery, making a plan. He realized that his father’s struggles weren’t his to fix—but he could try to offer the hope Mike had lost somewhere along the way.

Current Progress

Oh this is SOOOO insanely detailed and FUN!

Mind you, I am working with a brush that is the size of a toothpick! You can see many closeup shots of it in the video above.

Intimate feelings about the story

I am deeply grateful with how open Mike is with this story and the way I am growing with the story. When we spoke, I said “You know Mike, not many people want to open up their closet to show off their skeletons.” His reply, when you do that, you find that there are no skeletons, just an empty closet with the light on.

What a GEM!

About the Painting

So another milestone! I will soon be finished with the entire first layer of all 3 pieces. I can’t wait to show it all. Then…..

I do it all over again! I will put a 2nd layer on everything and maybe even a 3rd layer in some areas. I am trying to bring in a little texture as well. I feel like I have a lot of color correcting to do on the hand and I will spend a lot of time there.

I really want to say THANK YOU to those of you that are here. You have no idea what it means to me that you are supporting this crazy idea and my journey. Without you, I would be talking to myself 🤣.

Feedback is always encouraged. I would love to hear from you.

Collect early - Gigantic rewards.

By being a paid subscriber here, you have the opportunity to collect this work before it’s complete at a price with a HUGE reward. I will progressively increase the price of this work as I tell the story and complete more of the painting. IF you collect early, the painting will still be completed and the story will still be told, but you get to call it “Yours”. You will be the ONLY person to call it “Yours”.

Each Sunday, the cost of collecting this work will increase.

I have scheduled this work to take me 7 weeks. I have divided the story into 7 weeks as well as the progressive pricing. Collect early, save BIG!