Brutal, tragic and beautiful. I'm trying not to cry.
Maybe it hits extra hard for me because my grandfather developed dementia in his later years. He didn't recognize me (who admittedly visited him much less frequently than I should have). Neither did he recognize my mom, who visited him and grandma several times a year, despite living on the other side of the country. But he recognized grandma, his wife of more than 60 years, the love of his life, who would always bring a smile to his face and a spring to his step.
I agree with you, Pegeen. This is an incredible love story, beautiful and heart wrenching. How this could happen to both men she loved seems like too much for life to ask.
Such incredible strength, sadness, honesty as well as compassion and love are revealed in the writing. A reminder as well that what we “see” in someone’s life is often not what it “is”. This in itself is a reminder for all of us to abandon our fears to ask what is truly happening in someone’s life—-thank you for sharing.
Yes! And sometimes we have to ask twice. Or three times.
There’s one part in this story that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about since yesterday: When the author remembers giving half-assed condolences to a friend experiencing a major loss. I think we have all been on both sides of that kind of a cop-out.
To really be with a person who is grieving or afraid can be very challenging and emotionally exhausting.
But exactly as you said, this story is a great reminder that we need to go deeper sometimes, especially if our intuition tells us that something’s up with someone we care about.
Brutal, tragic and beautiful. I'm trying not to cry.
Maybe it hits extra hard for me because my grandfather developed dementia in his later years. He didn't recognize me (who admittedly visited him much less frequently than I should have). Neither did he recognize my mom, who visited him and grandma several times a year, despite living on the other side of the country. But he recognized grandma, his wife of more than 60 years, the love of his life, who would always bring a smile to his face and a spring to his step.
WOW, I truly can’t wrap my head around this. Tragic beyond words. But I do agree with the author, these are love stories.
I agree with you, Pegeen. This is an incredible love story, beautiful and heart wrenching. How this could happen to both men she loved seems like too much for life to ask.
Such incredible strength, sadness, honesty as well as compassion and love are revealed in the writing. A reminder as well that what we “see” in someone’s life is often not what it “is”. This in itself is a reminder for all of us to abandon our fears to ask what is truly happening in someone’s life—-thank you for sharing.
Yes! And sometimes we have to ask twice. Or three times.
There’s one part in this story that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about since yesterday: When the author remembers giving half-assed condolences to a friend experiencing a major loss. I think we have all been on both sides of that kind of a cop-out.
To really be with a person who is grieving or afraid can be very challenging and emotionally exhausting.
But exactly as you said, this story is a great reminder that we need to go deeper sometimes, especially if our intuition tells us that something’s up with someone we care about.
Thank to you too for sharing!
The humanness here…
Damn. Heavy. Powerful.
I hope this wins AOTD for tomorrow.