A Mother's Strength

 My mother is the best person I know.

There is not enough space on this page for me to express to you how amazing my mother is. So for that reason alone I will not try and prove to you what I know to be true in my heart. I will not fill this page with examples in an effort to persuade you as to how awesome she is. I simply ask you to take my word for it.  :)

 With that settled I am writing this post today to talk about my mom and how amazing she is for taking care of my grandfather. For those of you who know me personally you understand how close I am with my family, and that really begins with the "glue" that is my mom. My grandfather has lived with my mother for nearly 20 years now. He was always a strong man accustomed to doing things for himself. As he became older the normal things occurred- his walking slowed, his sleeping increased etc. All in all he was fine.

  Cut to a few short months ago. Out of nowhere my grandfather took a complete turn for the worst. The culprit- Dementia. The accomplice- a series of mini-strokes that we didn't know he was having.

 Those things lead my grandfather to not be able to take care of himself in any sense of the word. My mother had to feed him, clothe him, shave him ...you get the idea. And she did it all 99% of the time completely by herself. While still working a full-time job. While still maintaining a positive attitude and a smile on her face. As you can imagine even with the most love in your heart, and with the greatest intentions and effort after a while of doing so much by yourself something just has to give. It was with a heavy heart that my mother decided to seek help. After all, that is why we have insurance right? (Sorry inside joke- insurance should be a whole different blog post- that I won't write because I may be forced to use profanity) Well thankfully after all insurance problems got straightened out and after my grandfather spent 5 weeks in the hospital (we were told it was only going to take 3 days) he is now settled into a nursing home that specializes in the terrible disease that is Dementia.

 He has good days and bad days. Some days I look at him and see my grandfather, other days I can tell he is not there. The good thing (if there is one) is that he cannot recall the "bad days". He has absolutely no idea that he has had any kind of bad day or aggressive behavior.

 I know there are other people out there with aging parents/grandparents. My advice is love them, take care of them and be there for them. My mom may not even realize how inspirational she has been throughout this time. She probably doesn't even realize the life lesson that she has taught me. But she certainly laid down the blueprint best example of how to be an awesome daughter.

 To the best mom in the world! Xoxo

I am Sally and this is "Where I Find Myself"