I woke up this morning, with ideas on how to compose a Six Sentence Story, only to realize that I had remembered the prompt incorrectly. With the new prompt in mind, then, I returned to the task at hand.
"I think my in-laws. . . are dead."
Those words, spoken from a nonagenarian, indicated a reversal in time in her mind. By the time she reached centenarian status, great-great grandchildren never existed; great-grandchildren were forgotten; grandchildren were familiar only in a vague, "I've seen you somewhere before" sort of way, and even her own children, long established as Pat and Jim, reverted back to being Patty and Jimmy.
Though the Alzheimer's robbed her of her more recent memories and returned her to increasingly-younger stages of her life, that awful disease could not erase our memories of her as a fiercely independent, hard-working, intelligent woman with a can-do attitude, who treated everyone kindly. She's the one who wired the upstairs of the old farmhouse after checking out a how-to electrician's book from the library; the one who learned to play the piano after retirement; the one who faithfully attended water aerobics into her 80's; the one who stayed up-to-date with computers until the Alzheimer's prevented it; and the one who always--even now--has a smile and soft-spoken word for anyone.
I do not know how far back in time Alzheimer's will take her--she is already talking more about her mama--but I do hope that she can somehow realize during her return to childhood that there are many people who love and admire her, and who recognize her depth of character.
Thanks for memories, even when we lose our own.
"I think my in-laws. . . are dead."
Those words, spoken from a nonagenarian, indicated a reversal in time in her mind. By the time she reached centenarian status, great-great grandchildren never existed; great-grandchildren were forgotten; grandchildren were familiar only in a vague, "I've seen you somewhere before" sort of way, and even her own children, long established as Pat and Jim, reverted back to being Patty and Jimmy.
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| Photo: Grandma on her 100th birthday |
Though the Alzheimer's robbed her of her more recent memories and returned her to increasingly-younger stages of her life, that awful disease could not erase our memories of her as a fiercely independent, hard-working, intelligent woman with a can-do attitude, who treated everyone kindly. She's the one who wired the upstairs of the old farmhouse after checking out a how-to electrician's book from the library; the one who learned to play the piano after retirement; the one who faithfully attended water aerobics into her 80's; the one who stayed up-to-date with computers until the Alzheimer's prevented it; and the one who always--even now--has a smile and soft-spoken word for anyone.
I do not know how far back in time Alzheimer's will take her--she is already talking more about her mama--but I do hope that she can somehow realize during her return to childhood that there are many people who love and admire her, and who recognize her depth of character.
Thanks for memories, even when we lose our own.
There is so much power in your love for your grandmother, and your ability to remember her as she was, despite the life and memories she is being robbed of now. I am delighted that she is maintaining the kind, caring personality she is known for, and I pray that she will find peace as this journey takes her home. XOXO
ReplyDeleteI am also glad that her personality is mostly the same as before. I know it isn't always that way with Alzheimer's patients, and I imagine that must be terribly difficult for those who love them.
DeleteGrandmas, so essential to what we are . Love it.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteI feel so much love for your Grandmother and what she is experiencing in this phase of her life. Family is love and memories (yours and hers) are the glue. Thanks for sharing this, Kristi.
ReplyDeleteFamily is love. My belief in life after this one helps me remember that her situation is only temporary, and that sometime she will have her memory back.
DeleteOh my this one made me teary. What a wonderful bunch of memories you have!a real gift from your grandmother to you.
ReplyDeleteShe's quite the remarkable woman.
DeleteWow, this is good, really got to me.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Deleteman... very powerful, moving, sad, yet embracing the good, reminding us of the positive, not simply in one person, but in the relationships that this person created by being a part of, the non-destroyable good.
ReplyDeleteNothing, not even Alzheimer's, can take away the person she is underneath it all.
DeleteRecently she introduced me as her mother to someone. I just smiled. It makes me think of the book, Love You Forever, by Robert Munsch. :)
ReplyDeleteI know you make a great mom and a great daughter! :-)
DeleteFamily history is such a precious gift. There is both joy and sadness mixed up in here, but the feelings of love are clear.
ReplyDelete