Mimi

So today, after taking Lily to the doctor, I talked to my sister. She and mom were on their way to visit Mimi, since she can't come to Val's wedding this weekend. She was at our wedding 3 years ago...but there is NO WAY she could make it to Val's. Mimi has alzheimers. And to be honest, at first the diagnosis didn't shake me up...I mean, Mimi seemed fine to me. So she was a little forgetful, and driving needed to be out of the question...but she was still Mimi. Still laughing, engaging in conversation, etc. I knew it would get worse, but I never spent much time dwelling on what worse would mean.

Mimi lives in a house with 5 or 6 other elderly ladies. They don't all have alzheimers like she does. Mimi sleeps alot. She's very quiet, and thankfully is not angry or difficult - I have heard of people who were once so patient and gentle turning so mean - this is not Mimi. She was curled up in a chair sleeping, Mom and Val were sitting on the floor near her, and all the other ladies were in their chairs or recliners around the room. A sweet older lady named Grace was doing "sit and be fit" moves to tapes that she changed out from song to song - two women were participating - the rest were either sleeping, watching, or in their own worlds. They did a particularly fun exercise with foam balls to Blueberry Hill - a classic. :)

The whole time, Mimi slept. She's so tiny...and really frail. When we left we all said bye to her, kissed her cheeks, etc. I said "Bye Mimi, I love you." and she told me, "okay. I'll be around."

I couldn't help but think about the lives represented in that room that had been confined to old bodies and minds that won't cooperate with them anymore. Some in the room are of realtively healthy bodies, but their minds are struggling. Others, like Ms. Grace with sit and be fit, are only limited by the fact that they don't get around as well as they used to - she was sharp!

What if we could have flashed back 50 or so years? Then they'd be my age, give or take. What if they had been sitting in the same circle, same recliners...but in their 30s? What would they have talked about, laughed about, lamented? I'm sure they would have discussed children and parenting, good recipes or household secrets to getting this or that clean....Maybe they would have talked about the latest gossip at church, or what was new in the lives of their husbands...Most assuredly they would have been more private than we are today with each other...but perhaps more hospitable or lady-like to some degree. But today, they smiled at Lily and cooed about how cute she is. They did their exercises. They waited for their snacks and medecines. They got their physical therapy. And tomorrow will be more of the same.

As Ecclesiastes both encourages us, and admonishes us...let's live our lives fully today. Don't be lazy or complacent. Don't walk in fear. There will come a day, if we live long enough, that our mind or our body (or both!) will no longer cooperate with us. And we will wake up each morning ready for our real home - in the meantime, love deeply and fully. This is a legacy that will live on...and I have been blessed to receive such a legacy from my Mimi.