As some of you know, my mother has advanced Alzheimer’s.  She has lived in a nursing home for over a year now.  I thought that she would have headed on out by now…but she is alive and continues to be alive.  At this point, I think she is going to live forever, in this strange dream of a place that she resides in.

My interaction with her has changed pretty dramatically over the last handful of months.  Rather than edgy and mean or having intense scary hallucinations, she has been more child like….and sweet.  I can imagine her as a young girl now…before she became the angry adult she turned into…and I can see this sweet, fun kid who was curious  and mischievous.  She has become surprisingly delightful.  I have conversations with her that feel warm and fuzzy.  What a surprise!  And what a gift~

I am not saying that every interaction with her is fun….much of the time it is pretty strange and sometimes it still has pretty sharp edges…but, I love that she has this young part of herself that I get to connect with.  I wrap it around me like a cozy blanket.  And when the conversations get sharp or freaky….I remember this other aspect of her and I feel a little less conflicted.

There are so many challenges for those of us dealing with this.  Alzheimer’s is a marathon.  A very long marathon.  We need to make sure that we hydrate.  That we have good running shoes and comfortable clothes on.  We need our people standing along the road and maybe even running along side of us…supporting us.  Reminding us that we are okay…that everything is okay.

I have many clients who are in the middle of all of this.  It is messy.  It is exhausting.  It is sad.  It is sometimes charming and sweet.  I hope you have good support, a good sense of humor and lots of little ways that you can give yourself self care~  Your not in this alone…there are many of us out here~

That’s it for now.

Have a lovely rest of your day~~~