A Mother's Love, Dementia cannot hide.

I haven’t lived near my family in almost 20 years. We didn’t have Skype to keep in touch through those years, but I would call her about once a week, sometimes more. The woman had a minor in home economics and horticulture. There was nothing around the house she couldn't’ make, grow or clean. Sometimes the talk was short, other times we would talk for an hour and a half. I told her stories about my girls, asked for advice, vented about problems and enjoyed her being there for me.

As she aged she had several health issues, one of which was dementia. I began to mourn my mother before her death. I missed the conversations. I missed the advice. I missed being able to call her for help with our garden (I did NOT inherit her green thumb.) I missed her interest in the anecdotes about her granddaughters. She didn’t seem to care though I knew she did.

My story is very different than many who have family members dealing with Alzheimer's or Dementia but I saw a small bit of the heartache. It’s terrible!

I thought I was prepared for her passing. I thought since I was already mourning the loss of our conversations that I knew what it would be to be completely without her.

I was wrong.

One of the characters in my book has Alzheimer’s. It was difficult to write. I will be honest, I cried in a few places. I hope against hope that people dealing with this disease are not offended but somewhat lifted up that others understand their heartache.