I am sure this sounds like a weird statement but let us stop and think about it. Memory. The one thing that we take for granted. We have had it for as long as we can remember and when it starts to fade, we are not exactly sure when it started to happen. But it does happen. We may not lose all of our memory, but it starts to get fuzzy the older we get.
Today is Thanksgiving. The only plans I had made for the day was to visit my Mother-In-Law in the Assisted Living Unit she lives in. We planned on having Thanksgiving lunch together. My husband was working and we had already "celebrated" the past weekend. When I got there, my Mother-In-Law who we will call, "Linda" was ready for me. But she was ready to go to church! She thought it was Sunday. She had forgotten the day. For Linda this is normal. Linda has dementia. Her memory is fading and fading fast. Everyday, is a challenge for her to remember the day, time, where she lives, when we have came to see her, what she was doing, if she ate, if she slept, or if she has brushed her teeth. Things you and I may take for granted, stress Linda to the point of fear and melt downs.
Which brings me back to thinking about "memory". At lunch, we sat with Goldie. Goldie is 104. Yes, 104 years young. Goldie is full of life, laughter and positivity. She gets around pretty darn good for 104 years old too. As we sat with her I asked her what was her secret. She said, " I just take one day at a time." One day at a time. That reminds me of an old church song, " One day at a time, sweet Jesus...." She was not worried about tomorrow, but just lived for the day. But, as I looked at Goldie and Linda, I realized something. Goldie still had pretty good memory. It was fuzzy, but it was there. Linda's memories from childhood were there, but her daily memories were constantly being "refreshed". An hour from that moment, she will have forgotten I had been there at all. How scary would that be? I had never thought about how important our memories were until I watched Linda lose hers. I have never been so thankful to have mine as I was today. So this Thanksgiving, as you are "thinking" about all you are thankful for, remember without your "memory", you would not be able to remember all the things you could be thankful for.
-WBF
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