It’s time to participate in the April A-Z Blog Challenge. I will be blogging every day in April, with Sunday’s off.
The topic for each day will begin with the designated letter of the alphabet.
This Tuesday’s letter is M.
I have been close to many whose memory doesn’t work the same way it used to. I can see the array of emotions reflected in their eyes.
I wonder what it would feel like if I could no longer remember.
The topic for each day will begin with the designated letter of the alphabet.
This Tuesday’s letter is M.
I have been close to many whose memory doesn’t work the same way it used to. I can see the array of emotions reflected in their eyes.
I wonder what it would feel like if I could no longer remember.
Will I feel embarrassed each time I ask you once
and then again,
“What is your name?”
Will I feel angry each time I ask you once and
then again,
“When can I go home?”
Will I feel sad each time I ask you once and
then again,
“Where is Joey?”
Will I feel frustrated each time I ask you once
and then again,
“Why can’t
you stay longer?”
Will I feel confused each time I ask you once
and then again,
“Why do you call me Mom?”
Will I feel worried each time I ask you once and
then again,
“Am I going to be okay?”
Will I feel lonely each time I ask you once and
then again,
“Are they coming today?”
“Are they coming today?”
I often wonder what would be worse when I got older, having a lot of pain and a sharp memory, or having no pain and dementia. My mom was sharp as a tack with her memory until the last week or so of her life and mainly that was because of the morphine given to keep her comfortable, but for years she suffered a lot of excruciating back pain. My MIL, on the other hand, didn't suffer the severe type of pain my mother did, but had dementia as a result of her Parkinson disease. I think the most frustrating part of dealing with her dementia was her husband's trouble with it so he was always correcting her; I just went with where she was at with her memory. I do hope I keep my memory for as long as possible, hopefully for the rest of my life.
ReplyDeletebetty
We have a cousin who is having a tough time. Actually he is my husband’s second cousin and they are very close. He calls Ross daily now because he does not remember that he spoke with him the day before. It’s so sad. Yes, I think if I had to choose between pain and memory loss, I would choose pain. You can manage pain with meds. Memory is precious.
DeleteI ask people's names all the time. I can't seem to hold onto names. But otherwise. It's something to contemplate, for sure.
ReplyDeleteLiz A. from Laws of Gravity
We just came back from a visit with family. There were two young women also visiting. We had met them only a couple of times before. Even though they did not look alike, and one was pregnant, Ross and I could not remember their names or which one was which. So we made up a rhyme for each. That seemed to help.
DeleteLosing your memory cannot be easy. I think even people suffering from dementia realize they do not recall details the way they once did.
ReplyDeleteI know that is true. They are aware that they cannot remember words or faces or names. It is scary and frustrating for them.
DeleteThis reminds me of that book "Still Alice." Have you read it? Luckily I don't have family members with severe memory issues so far.
ReplyDeleteNo, I haven’t read “Still Alice”. The title is interesting. I imagine one of the points of the book must be that even though we may not remember, the essence of our being is still inside of us somewhere.
DeleteMemory issues are devestating. I've watched my grandparents slowly forget most of us, and it's truly horrible to see.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad for the person and for the family. Perhaps some day they will find a remedy for it.
DeleteMy heart bleeds for the family and for the person with memory issues. How do they cope? How would we?
ReplyDeleteIt’s amazing how resiliiant we can be. Most of the time we seem to be able to dig down deep when we have to.
DeleteYou just gave me an amazing idea. I have my scrapbook of photos of the kids and I did little journaling with it, but now I think I'm going to go back through them and write stories to some of those photos. What a great idea! Thanks
ReplyDeleteFollowing from Blogging AtoZ.
I'm writing "Things My Husband Has Broken" A to Z at http://AMomsPointOfView.com
Come by and check it out.
Scrap books, photos and journals are so important for you and for your children.
DeleteAnother thing I do is
use the Facebook timeline feature to document our lives. I also have had all of my blogs printed and bound in a book.
Thank you for visiting. I will come by your blog.
Luckily I haven't experienced this with any of my loved ones. We do have a family friend who started to lose his memory a few years ago. He was early 60s when this began. It is so sad.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad whenever it happens, but when it occurs at an early age it’s even sadder.
DeleteI think memory loss--especially associated with dementia--is tragic. And I'm terrified of it happening to me or those close to me. (I have been very fortunate in this regard, up to this point.) Memory is such an elemental part of how we define ourselves, it's no wonder the loss of that seems catastrophic.
ReplyDelete