Thursday, November 11, 2010

Mail and friends

Personal mail -- something we don't get very much of anymore. Most people know I like to make cards and have always been a letter writer. Young people these days don't understand that and if my son is reading this he is probably rolling his eyes. So, it was very refreshing to receive a beautiful hand written note from a young lady in California. She had emailed me a few weeks back and she was working on a project for a class on Alzheimer's. She asked if I would answer a few questions for her via email. She was very sweet in understanding that I might not be able to answer all of them and to only answer the ones I felt comfortable with. I did the best I could and this week I received a hand written note from her thanking me for my time. She could have just as easily emailed me back with a thank you but she took the time out of her day to get a card, write a note and send it to me. Thank you Kirsten -- that meant the world to me and I hope your project went well.

I miss the letter writing. I don't do very well with it these days so I hope that my cards speak for themselves. I'm old fashioned that way I guess.

Today my husband and I had lunch with a lovely couple. Both of these people had been my son's teachers in high school. While my son was on the Academic Decathlon team he spent more time with them than he did with us, but considering they went to nationals each year and he learned so much we were so glad he got the opportunity. And, what great role models they were for him. I couldn't think of two nicer people for my son to be around. They will always mean a lot to me and to our son.

In the last few days several people have asked me about my Alzheimer's and "where I'm at with that". Some people don't want to ask because they really aren't sure how to either broach the subject or they are not sure that I want to talk about it. But, I respect these people in their approach -- they have started by asking something like "would it be inappropriate for me to ask about your Alzheimer's". That is so considerate and it is nice to know they are interested. So many people act is if it is like a big elephant in the room and it is so much easier to talk about it than to have it hanging over your head.

Our Memory Walk team raised the most money in the state......or at least we did until a company in Atlanta found out about it and matched it! But, that is good, because more money was raised by them matching it! A challenge is on for next year!

2 comments:

Iona Askew said...

Alzheimer's is exactly like a big elephant in the room, and I would also feel uncomfortable saying to my Dad "So Dad, hows the alzheimers today?" but it has to be addressed, he is in mid stage, and ythe struggle goes on. I am jsut greateful that when it gets really bad, he won't know - hopefully. I get Dad to write stuff all the time, even the shopping lists, as it means he has to actually think about something and put it down on paper. we came across a wonderful free bonus ebook all about Alzheimers, which has helped guide us through what to expect etc. It is very easy to read and understand and helps to understand memory a bit better and has given us a lot of tips to help keep Dads mind as sharp as poss for as long as poss.
Seven Second Memory ebook

david_hatton said...

Loved reading your blog, I'm a regular follower. Beautifully written. and thought provoking. My uncle died from Alzeimers and it was awful to watch towards the end. Thank you for this wonderful blog, it must give a lot of strength to so many people

Think you might find my posts and articles interesting, feel free to read them.

http://davidhatton1987.blogspot.com/