One of my Mother’s nicknames for my whole life has been “Command Central.”  She was the one that called the shots as to where we were going, what the menu was, etc., but for the past few years, that has not been the case.  My Mother, 86, suffers from dementia, possibly Alzheimer’s.  Yesterday, because I can’t seem to shake the habit, I called her to talk about Easter, but when I talked to her later on that day, she didn’t remember that we had spoken at all.  Times like these can be confusing and frustrating for both of us, but I usually try to find the humor in it and we both end up laughing.  Usually.

I wanted to write this blog to let you know (and remind myself) that if you have a loved one that is fading away from you and there is nothing you can do about it, you are not alone.  It is a cruel disease, but find the humor in it.  Find the funny in the stories that she/he tells you for the 100th time.  Sometimes, if I’m on the phone with her and she tells me the story about when she made meatloaf for her boss and how he wanted to hire her as his personal chef that I’ve heard over and over, I’ll mouth the words with her as they come out of her mouth.  She can’t see me on the other end of the phone and it’s my way to FIND THE FUNNY.  I have learned to NOT remind her that I’ve heard it already.  I mean, it’s not like she’s going to cook ever again, (SO sad) so let her have a memory of cooking for someone who really loved it.  Hopefully, we’ll have her for another few years, but if we don’t, I don’t want the last conversation I have with her to be one of frustration on my part because I couldn’t stand to hear again how she was so mad at my sister for knocking over the Christmas tree.

If my Mother has taught me anything, she’s taught me how to look on the bright side of EVERYTHING.  I’ll let you know how many stories she repeats on Easter and how much I’m going to love hearing them because I still have her.

Happy Easter, Easter Bunny!

Sarah – email at:  sarah@wpor.com