THE MOM I SO ADORE
Less than a week ago I returned from spending seven special days with my mom. When friends asked me how she was doing, I answered, "wonderful, given that she has Alzheimer's for the last nine years." The distance between us is difficult, yet I know that the nursing home that my mom is living in takes good care of her.
As I returned to frigid weather in New York, I thought of how unfair it would have been to bring her North. Mom has been living in warm weather for the last twenty seven years and her body temperature is use to that climate.
My husband joined me on this trip, and mom was unable to recognize him, nor remember who he was, yet magically fell in love with him. She wanted to know if he was her husband, and could not understand that he was her son-in-law for the last 33 years. Perhaps she imagined herself jumping on a white horse with him and taking off into the sunset.
Each day we took her out to sit in the garden to enjoy the warm breeze and the sounds of birds chirping. She walked around in her Merry Walker as my husband pointed out the different color flowers. It was like watching a child discover the beautiful things of nature for the very first time. I embraced her enthusiasm, her smiles and her laughter. Mom was in seventh heaven as she gleamed with delight.
At her age of eighty nine, mom is still feisty and has a good sense of humor. She enjoyed singing and spelling and on most occasion's knew I was her daughter .Once in a while she said I was her mother. Her mother, her daughter it did not matter, because I felt all the love that we had for each other.
I know that you cannot fight the progression of Alzheimer's yet mom seems to be "holding on". If I think of her surroundings, the bedroom she shares with her roommate who no longer speaks and the others who have disappeared from this horrific disease, I could cry my eyes out. Not knowing when and if mom will be like this, I now choose to cherish the time that we still have together.
Today, although mom is different than she was, I hold deep to my heart how very much I adore her. Sometimes in life we need to be thankful for what we have, for one day that, too, shall be gone.
MY MOM MY HERO BOOK for the special people in our lives. Available on Amazon & Kindle worldwide.
http://www.amazon.com/Mom-Hero-Alzheimers--daughters-bittersweet/dp/0615773982/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387133435&sr=1-1&keywords=lisa+hirsch
