I don’t remember the exact time or date in 2008 that mom’s diagnosis of Dementia /Alzheimer’s became a reality for me. As a family, we spent a lot of time trying to justify the signs and symptoms since mom was almost 90. It wasn’t so much her forgetfulness but the decline in her ability to cook and prepare meals, which was the real signal. 

The love my children see being bestowed upon their grandmother helps to foster conversation about the love, tenderness, and compassion that they will one day share with me as I age gracefully in time.