My mother was a beautiful person inside and out.
There are few things more devastating than hearing that your mother has Alzheimer’s Disease. Believe me – I know first-hand how horrible the disease can be for the person who suffers with it, and how it causes pain and suffering for the entire family. My mother was one of the thousands of people who experience the ravages of this mind-robbing disease — and she passed away due to complications of the disease 3 years ago. It stole her mind and her memories, but her beautiful spirit never ceased and lives on today.
My mother was an incredibly beautiful person — inside and out — who loved life and took advantage of every opportunity to live life to its fullest. With five children, she had little time or money for herself. But that never stopped her from enjoying life in simple ways. She was a stay-at-home-mom until my youngest sister started school and then she went to work outside the home full-time for the next 20 years.
But even when she was working, she always had time to enjoy life – and she made it fun for us too. Making homemade chocolate covered cherries; decorating our own homemade Christmas stockings out of felt pieces, glitter, and glue; playing with dozens of ceramic dolls she had made; getting up early in the mornings to pick buckets of wild blackberries before it got too hot; walking with us to the pond on our farm for a quick muddy swim; cranking the handle of the manual ice cream maker as she created a strawberry ice cream treat; and many more memories flood back when I think of her.
Now I am doing something to honor and remember her in a special way. I am walking in the 2011 Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s and my team is gearing up for the October 1, 2011 event. This is a simple thing we can do to help further research to end Alzheimer’s Disease and provide support and outreach to those already suffering with the disease.
I know my mom would be proud right now because she was a person who always found time to help others and give back in many ways. She took meals to the sick, drove them to doctor’s appointments, cared for their children, and arranged beautiful wild flowers to cheer them up – because she was just that kind of person.
Join us!
We’d love to have you join our team to walk on October 1, 2011 just minutes from Short Pump at Innsbrook in Richmond, VA – or form your own team.
If you are unable to walk but would be interested in supporting this valuable community event, then just click here.
Just knowing that Richmondmoms are behind us in spirit, as we remember our own mom at this event, will cheer us on to the finish line!
