Light in the Darkness

Most days in the winter are misty and grey. They never quite get light enough to rouse mom from her winter lethargy. Every once in a while, though, we get those sparkling days when the sunlight bouncing off the water is almost brighter than its brilliant aerial source. Yesterday and today have been those kinds of days and mom has been awake and energized for much of both days.

Yesterday when we made our morning run to the restroom, she looked around and then turned to me with a puzzled look on her face. “Where’s the toilet paper?” Now, we have been cleaning her up each time she goes to the bathroom for months, but that morning the light was shining in the darkness of her mind and she was my old mother. No WAY was I going to clean her up and no WAY was she going to use a wet wipe to clean herself. We eventually arrived at a compromise, but it was wonderful to see her brain working the way it used to work.

This morning mom also woke up early and was ready to get out of bed and get her day started! My caregiver had not yet arrived so I got her settled in her big chair with a banana and a cup of tea, then set off to the kitchen to start breakfast.  At that moment, the phone rang and a soldier, a wounded warrior, that we had “adopted” for Christmas the year before told me that he was at the door. He had just dropped in to say hello and introduce a buddy of his from the wounded warrior battalion. I think it’s safe to say that David has adopted us also and we are the closest thing to family that he has here, so it isn’t that odd for him to bring a buddy by to meet us… although 10:00 in the morning is a bit earlier than usual.

They had just left the base so David was in uniform. He asked if he could come in and say hi to my mom. She was delighted to see him and acted like she recognized him because no good hostess would admit to not knowing a guest. He came over, gave her a hug and introduced his friend who also reached over to shake her hand. I mentioned to his buddy that mom has Alzheimer’s and might repeat a question or two. He assured me that his Grandmother had suffered from Alzheimer’s, too, and that he was well acquainted with the ups and downs of the disease. I am often amazed at the number of people whose lives have been impacted by this disease in one way or another. But I digress…

David was holding Mom’s hand, as is her habit with visitors. She had given him a kiss or two on his hand in welcome and then she reached up and grabbed the hem of his uniform blouse. She gave it a little tug and said, “You’re in the…. Bill!” She couldn’t remember the word for which she was looking, Army, but she remembered that Dad had served in that uniform. So David patted her hand one more time and said “Yes! I am in the Bill!” Her face lit up and the light sparkled again in her eyes. You gotta love the light in the darkness!