Posted 8-12-19
We all had a very nice time at the 75th birthday party Saturday morning. Mom was pretty alert and seemed to enjoy the festivities but she told me as I left she wished we wouldn’t leave. It is rare when I hear mom say a complete sentence that expresses her feelings, but that one did well. That was a little hard to hear, I won’t lie. It is sometimes feelings-numbing when I don’t completely understand her feelings as I leave. No numbing, Saturday, for sure.
We had kids/step-kids, a niece, grand-kids, great grand-kids, neighbors, friends and a pooch there. She reacted well to the stress of the situation…probably better than I did. We all rallied together, visited, hugged, took waaaaay too many pictures, shared fishing stories and swarmed the veggies from my step-dad’s garden. It was a great day.
Days like that remind me so much that time seems to change everything. Like water dripping in a cave, time seems slow but is steady enough to get the job done. I remember vividly in 1984, when mom turned 40, saying to my sister and brother, in a moment of simple naivety, “Wow! Mom turned 40 today. We need to slow down and try to spend more time with her while she is still doing good!” as if 40 is the new 75 or the new 105. 🙂 Relative age is a funky thing to be sure. I remember my favorite grade in school, 5th grade, thinking how spunky the teachers were considering how old they were (likely 20s-30s…LOL) . Regardless of the number, looking back, they were considerably younger than I am now. Time keeps on a tickin’.
Back to the normal, post birthday routine now. I look forward to catching mom today on the way home from work. I am curious if she remembers the party, but I won’t ask. I will, however, try to get some pictures transferred from my phone to paper to give her soon.
This is a terrible disease, but there are glimmers of light every single day. Don’t give up, reader, whether you are a caregiver, a family member, an advocate, or just a visitor. You matter to these precious folks and you matter to me.
#EndALZ
What a wonderful birthday party and a special blessing she participated and enjoyed it enough she didn’t want it to end.
God bless Brenda and others dealing with this dreaded disease. We keep praying for a cure and end to this thief who rob’s beautiful people of their quality of life.
Thank you, Mark.
Thank you very much! It was a great little party.
I am right with you praying for a cure or better treatments.