Some months ago, I stopped updating this blog. It became a little too ‘close to the quick’ for me to continue to write. I have had a number of people contact me to let me know that hearing someone else’s story was a comfort to them; that they were not alone in walking through this situation. And you are not alone, if you are reading this as a caregiver to a loved one who is in a facility. . .

One of the things I have learned that I can do is provide mom with some consistency and in my case, it is lunch with her every Thursday. At her facility, I have come to know nearly all of the servers. Mom now does remember that I am coming to have lunch with her regularly. Sometimes. She always recognizes me, but does not always remember where she is.  For example, she will say “Can you run me back to the house before you go back to work” and she has not lived in her own house for several years now. That’s okay. I have learned to enjoy the time I have with her.

The best part of the journey that mom and my two brothers and I have taken is that we have been on it together. Not that we have not had disagreements, but we solved them together. Mom always took care of us when we were kids. It’s simply our turn.

We’re doing our best, mom.