It starts with her forgetting the date or why she’s standing in this doorway.
She loses her keys or forgets her plans for the day.
We watch a movie and she asks the
same questions over and over.
I just smile and reply with the same answer.
Bits and pieces slip from her memory.
She jokes about forgetting her own birthday.
The family acts like they don’t notice.
Everyone just laughs to hide their pain because it’s easier for everyone that way.
I wonder how much longer it will be until she forgets her sons and daughters, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Will she remember me next Christmas?
Who will teach me to make her special recipes on Thanksgiving?
How much time is there until her memory fades completely?
Time is as precious as ever.
She spends her winter in Florida with her loving husband, my Bapa.
I wonder how he’s holding up with the pain.
He has so much faith in her.
Desperate, he tries the exercises and new diets with her.
I’m secretly jealous of his time with her.
Time that she may not remember, but I know I would never forget.