There is a line we are walking on this dementia journey. On one side of the line is our desire to be with mom and her adorable laughter. To sit and to be together. To support her as she has always supported us. The other side is the desire to see her free from her … Continue reading The Divide
dementia
The Notebook
Have you seen the movie the Notebook? Spoiler alert, it’s a love story about a couple where the wife has dementia. Her husband goes to see her almost every day and tells her their story, hoping she will remember. I am watching a real-life version of the Notebook. For the past few years, Dad has … Continue reading The Notebook
A Mother’s Words
One of the values of being a writer is that the words can live beyond your lifetime. This is both a scary thought to me and a comforting one. Hopefully, the words I write leave the world a better place because someday they will be all that is left of me. My only mark on … Continue reading A Mother’s Words
Childlike
I have always loved kids. From the time I was a girl, I worked with little ones as soon as I was old enough. My first real job was at a daycare center at the age of 15. I worked VBS at church every summer. Pretty much every job or volunteer opportunity I had, revolved … Continue reading Childlike
A Great Love
What better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than to repost the story of Mom and Dad's Great Love. I wrote this during the pandemic when we moved Mom to memory care. It has been some years, but the Great Love is still in action even now. I have grown up in the shadow of a … Continue reading A Great Love
Word Salad
Frontotemporal dementia is the disintegration of the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. These are the centers for language, movement, and memory. This is the type of dementia Mom has. From the beginning, before any of us knew there was anything wrong, her language was affected. She had trouble finding the right word. She … Continue reading Word Salad
Jimmy and Marie
I met Jimmy through my dad. They are in the same support group of men caring for their wives who have dementia. The group has grown, but Dad and Jimmy were part of the original three. Their friendship is born from the shared pain and vulnerability of being caregivers. Dad gave Jimmy Words to the … Continue reading Jimmy and Marie
God Cannot Forget You
When Bill was in the hospital all those years ago, I often wondered what was happening to him spiritually. He was out of his mind, so where was his spirit? When he came around, I asked him what he remembered, curious if he had seen or felt anything from the unseen realm. He didn’t remember … Continue reading God Cannot Forget You
Sharing Loss
Photo: Mike Hunter (the day they brought her home from the shelter) The dementia journey is fraught with loss. At every turn, your loved one is fading away which causes its own sort of slow dying process in your heart as a caregiver. Your emotional state is tied to their wellbeing; each step of their … Continue reading Sharing Loss
Gallivanting
A special guest blog by my sister, Melinda Jenkins. For several years, my family and I have watched dementia take little chunks of my mom’s memory away, slowly, piece by piece. After my parents moved off the mountain in Highlands to Lanier Village Estates in Gainesville, the disease seemed to escalate in the most difficult … Continue reading Gallivanting
Michelle's Mosaic 