Last night I ran into a friend who has been following my blog. He asked how my mother was doing and remarked that Alzheimer’s is really tough. So it is. This past year, this past summer has been challenging. Again and again I turned to Lori’s Lessons to remind me how to keep a positive attitude, to accept help, to take care of myself when I can. I have not read the lessons for a few weeks – because my mother is doing so well. Since she moved to assisted living, she has gotten steadily better.

I agonized over moving her. I hated taking her out of familiar surroundings. Yet she wasn’t happy there. She kept telling me she needed to go home even though she had lived in this same condominium for fifteen years. She had kind and conscientious caregivers, but she kept saying she didn’t want them anymore. I was over there five days a week managing the nurses, Mom’s issues, the doctors and her home, and I was exhausted. I consulted a geriatric specialist, her internist and a specialist in memory care. All said she would be better in an assisted living with staff trained in memory care.

She has thrived. My mother is a different person. On her second night in her new rooms, my husband, daughter and I visited with her on her terrace. She already seemed alert and happy. It was such a change from visiting her in the condo where she seemed confused and remembered little.   On the way home, my daughter said, “She has something to talk about now.” In her condo, watching television all day put her into a daze. Now she goes to exercise class in the morning, eats lunch with a friend, plays bridge in the afternoon, then goes to cocktails and listens to music before dinner with friends. She has a new best friend, and they laugh all the time. They both repeat themselves, but it doesn’t bother them since both are telling stories over and over. Now Mom remembers things. She is winning at bridge, a game that requires memory power. She even has better balance when she walks.

I feel as if the weight of the world has lifted off my shoulders. I still visit three times a week because I want to spend time with her. I just received page proofs for my new book and am spending long days reviewing them. Before her move, I would have taken time from work to visit even though I had no time to spare. Even when I was tired and stressed, I felt I had to go because Mom seemed so pitiful and there were always problems for me to resolve. Right now it helps to be able to spend the whole day at my desk.

It is such a blessing. A miracle.

Lori’s lesson that resonates now is number 7: “Be grateful for every gift. I say a prayer each time I look at the flowers that grow from the seeds I planted.”