In Sickness and In Health

This picture was taken before Mom's dementia diagnosis.

A Beautiful Autumn Day at Big Rock, Cherokee Park

THIS is how I like to and want to remember my parents.

Their fond gaze with one another is something that was present throughout my lifetime. I've never known 2 people who were as IN LOVE as my parents, and they still are to this day. Dad's devotion to Mom over all of her years of her many illnesses is something remarkable.

Dad still looks at Mom this way, even though sometimes she isn't sure who he is. I know that Mom still has very strong feelings of love and affection for Dad because in the days when she isn't sure who he is she is trying desperately to find him. Usually he is sitting in the chair right next to hers. It is heartbreaking to receive the phone calls from her when she sounds frightened of the strange man in her house with her; she is looking for Dad. Again, he is usually sitting in the chair next to hers, he is the "strange man" she speaks of and is frightened of. Somehow, through the fear, I think she knows deep down in her soul that she is safe with the "strange man" and she tells me that I don't have to come to her rescue.

I cannot begin to imagine how Mom must feel. I wonder if she is living in fear most of the time because she is not familiar with her surroundings or the people in them? She must feel so alone. But this picture can hopefully remind her that she IS loved and she ISN'T alone.

This is how I always want to remember my parents. My parents are the perfect example of true love and devotion, the way a marriage is supposed to be.....
"for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death us do part".

Comments

Amy said…
Wonderful and so true!