My father passed away on February 20. I spent 12 years dealing with the tragedy of his disease. Now, I am free to experience the sorrow of this loss. My father was the best thing that ever happened to me because he was the one who made sure we all went to church when I […]
The further I travel the nearer comes my understanding.
Growing up, I went to church three times a week, and even when I wasn’t listening to my dad’s sermons, some part of me was paying attention. My recall of things I didn’t know I knew surprises me sometimes. Often, my father pounded the pulpit in fits of hell, fire, and brimstone. Other times, he […]
My Father’s Legacy: Tell the Truth
Sometimes, my father would joke, “I feel like I’m fading.” Other times, sitting across the table from me at breakfast, he’d tell me he felt out of sorts. I’d ask him what he meant, and he’d wave a firm palm in front of his face and say, “Just out of it.” Sometimes, his eyes would […]
Life After Alzheimer’s Holds My Father’s Beautiful Reward
From a house on a hill a sacred light shines I walk through these rooms but none of them are mine Down empty hallways I went from door to door Searching for my beautiful reward — From Springsteen and Beautiful Reward By broadest definition, Generation X begins in 1961 and ends in 1981. That means, the […]
My Father Turns 80
Today is my father’s 80th birthday. Wow. Happy Birthday, DB! You mean the world to me! —YBG *** I saw my father today. I walked into his room to find him staring out the window. He was wearing cranberry-colored sweats. My father would not have been caught dead in sweats prior to his nursing home […]
Losing A Parent To Alzheimer’s Is Devastating
In the early days of my father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, I visited him several times a week. I picked him up every Saturday morning in my Jeep and took him to breakfast at IHOP. Sometimes, Robert and I visited him during evenings for coffee. We’d wheel him down to the cafeteria, which he called the mess hall. There was […]
Alzheimer’s: Why Daughters Cry in Green Bean Salad
I pray the Lord to set me free May you never be alone like me. — from Hank Williams Sr. I sit with my father in the dining room at the nursing home. It is lunchtime and every table is filled with quiet people sitting in wheelchairs. Some of them look crazy. Some of them […]