Sunday, October 9, 2005

FALL

The trees on our street are beginning to turn fall colors.

The word "Fall" describes what will happen in the weeks ahead. The leaves will fall and the trees will be bare again. They will be waiting for snow to cover them against the cold winds of winter. They will be resting and waiting for spring and life in their limbs again.

When I think of Fall, I think of Peggy but without the hope of Spring.

She once stood like the trees on my street and she was beautiful in the Spring and Summer of her life. The sun sparkled through her mind.

Then, the  cool winds of Fall began to blow through her brain and the thoughts in her mind began to turn dark colors. They lost their grip on the branches of her memory and began to fall, one thought at a time.

Now, Peggy stands bare, stripped of thoughts while the cold wind of Alzheimer's disease continues to blow through her brain.

Soon, there will be nothing left in her mind of summer. There will be no summer memories to warm her during the winter of her life. 

 There will only be the cold, freezing snow of Alzheimer's covering her brain while she stands, shivering in the cold.

There is no hope of Spring for Peggy and no memory of summer because the seasons of her life have ended and she lives in the cold of winter.

Watching Peggy disappear is like watching a leaf lose it's grip on a branch of a tree and slowly twist and turn until it reaches the ground.

Now, every time that I see a leaf on the ground...

I will remember Peggy.

I Love You Today, Peggy!

Mary Louise

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I continue to be so glad tha Peggy has you(and others) to remember and love her. Margo

Anonymous said...

the most beautiful leaves i have ever seen are the colorful fall leaves that had fallen from the trees.
Peggy's fall season is here.  But her spring and summer will come along to her.  God will see to that. Rest assure.
still, the beautiful analagy of your feelings of fall and Peggy are so true.  May God bring comfort to you during this season in your life.
love,
Wendy

Anonymous said...

I know I tend to repeat myself when commenting on your entries, BUT, I just love the way you are paying homage to Peggy by doing this journal. You share your grief so gracefully, and you've bought more tears to my eyes in months than they've had in years! Thank you, rich

Anonymous said...

I have said it before to others, Alzheimers is cruellest on the relatives of the sufferer; this is because we are are aware of how much that person has gone from who they were, yet the sufferer is quite content in their little world and unaware of our pain at seeing them drift away from us! My thoughts are with you Mary Louise. I left an entry on my journal on October 2nd in memory of my dear Dad who was a sufferer of Alzheimers, pop in and have a look if you have time.
http://journals.aol.co.uk/aniracj/StrannyDayze/     The entry is entitled Happy Birthday Dad

Anonymous said...

I know this sounds weird, but thank you for doing this.

I read you every day.  Your entries, and your remembrance of your sister, brings me down to earth again and again and again.  And, for a little bit a least, I remember what is important.

To remember.

That's all.  Just to remember.

Thank you for doing this.

-Jeff (<> <>)