It was a year ago today that my mom died. Wow. What a year it has been.
Many of the strange events of her descent into Alzheimer's have started to fade into the background, and the good memories of her life have begun to return to the surface.
Just a few weeks ago I suddenly found myself in my kitchen singing a song at the top of my lungs. It was an old hymn, not one that I'm in the habit of busting out into.
But my mom was.
I stopped singing and just let the words of the hymn run silently through my mind.
They were words I needed to hear. Words my mom would have told me had I been able to pick up the phone and call her. Words that totally expressed the way she lived her life.
This is just one of the ways that I've found it to be true that those who love us never really leave us, even in death.
My mom poured herself into her family, and she is still here, in us.
Oh? The picture? One of my mom's FAVORITE things to do in the summer was to get all of her work done early and take her lawn chair and a magazine out into the back yard to relax.
Her choice would have been Good Housekeeping or Woman's Day. So with my work all done, on Mother's Day I took my lawn chair out into the yard - how I happened to have Architectural Digest I cannot explain - and perused its pages in a leisurely fashion.
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5 comments:
(My mother has begun HER "descent into Alzheimer's". There are been several "strange events" already, and I suspect more to follow. It's comforting somehow to know I'm not alone on this journey...)
I like the juxtaposition of the "Open House" on the magazine cover with your OWN home in the background of the picture...
Glad you could take a break & peruse! I gave myself that luxury on Friday morning & read an interesting book.
(My mother has begun HER "descent into Alzheimer's". There are been several "strange events" already, and I suspect more to follow. It's comforting somehow to know I'm not alone on this journey...)Yes, my mother has as well. It makes me so very very sad. It's nice to know that the good memories will prevail
oh Judy, amazing that it has been a year already. I started reading your blogs about the time she was already deeply into the descent. I loved this post Judy. I feel similarly about the memories of my dad...the good memories return to the surface and what they poured into us has remained with us!
This disease is so distressing and I have a dear lady friend who lost her husband from it and now is suffering from it herself. Thank you for reminding me how progressive it is ... I must contact her THIS week ... while she still knows me.
kisses to you.
I love the way you describe her still being with you. It is a comforting thought and an illustration perfect for sharing with those who mourn.
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