Living in the Moment

Yesterday while visiting with my mother, I was sitting with 5 residents of the Alzheimer's facility. We were sitting in a tight semicircle of chairs watching the Weather channel. Each time it cycled through, we discussed that the northeast was having a lot of snow, that it was good to have some sunshine here and that it was probably going to rain on Sunday. Then one lady got up came over to another lady and said, "I hear you're going to be leaving us." The second lady answered, "Yes, I think my family is coming this afternoon to take me home." (both ladies have been here over a year with no plans to leave) Then the first lady replied, "We're going to miss you." And was answered by "I'll miss you too." Then we returned to the Weather channel. After about three minutes the scene was repeated, just as sincere as the first time. Then a few minutes later, it was repeated again. None of the group viewed this as unusual. I just smiled. I wasn't laughing at them at all; I thought, this is great, these women are doing what all women do, talk about the weather and talk about what's happening in their lives. For them, this was reality - they were living in the moment. For this moment they weren't afraid of the unknown and they weren't lonely. And I thanked God for letting me be a part of their day.

Moment of Clarity

For almost all Alzheimer's patients there are a few times when they have a moment of clarity. For just a moment you can almost see them as the person that they used to be. Then the moment will pass and you'll see that unfocused gaze in their eyes. When you get a moment of clarity take advantage of it and tell them that you love them. But when they go back into their own world, still hold their hand and hug them and thank God for the blessings of those few moments.