Finding Joy in the Journey Turns into Gratitude

I tend to read a lot of knitting or happy living blogs.  Last year I read a few where the tendency was to adopt a motto or a mantra for the year with each year being different.  For 2017 I adopted the mantra, "Find Joy in the Journey".  I tried to enjoy every second and I took a million pictures of real life moments.  I didn't stage them and I didn't edit them. I made Facebook Albums with them and shared them so family could see them but mostly so I could go back and look at them.  There were a few pictures with my mom but not as many as there should have been.  This coming year I will take more with my mom when I visit her.  I am thinking of making an album of just the visits when I visit her and try to take selfies of the two of us!  Here's a start from my mom's family Christmas party at her facility on 12/02/17!  She was confused by the phone and what I was doing with the camera on the phone.

This was also the first time that I got to see her in her new chair that she seems to really like.  I was both happy and sad. It was sad to see her in this new chair because it means another transition deeper into this terrible disease.  However, I am happy because she seems to be doing much better since she received this chair.  She is even eating more again.  There is still no rhyme or reason to how she will respond when I visit her.  There never will be.  For now, I am just finding joy whenever I can visit with her and finding gratitude for everyone who takes care of her.  She is after all my mom and I love her and want her to be happy and safe.  I also can't thank her enough for everything she has done for me. At the same time, I know she wants me to be happy and safe too and she thanks me for all I am doing for her.

I have chosen Gratitude for 2018 for many reasons.  This past year, I spent many times both sad and angry with the fact that I am now her sole connection with her past.  No one visits her but me and at first I found that difficult.  I was also angry many days when I realized that I am the only one who goes to see my mom. There are still a few people who will ask me about her but not many. After all, there isn't much to say.  It isn't like she just needs time to get well from what she has....she isn't going to get better.  It's a tough thing when someone says, "How is your mom?".  As long as she is taken care of, then she is good or as good as she can be. 

I am learning myself that there isn't an easy answer for that question so maybe it is hard to ask. I debated on even writing about it at all because I do not want to hurt any feelings.  However, I started this blog to be real, to be honest, to help anyone else going through this, and to help heal myself for how much this hurts to go through.  I have come to the realization that she would want everyone to remember her as she was, not as she is now.  Everyone deals with things in different ways. The memories that she has left in her families hearts will definitely remain etched  there without her family having to see her slipping away.  

When searching for my mantra for 2018, I discovered Gratitude was perfect because it covers the past, today, and the future.  It made me realize that I am thankful for the fact that my mom's grandchildren will always remember their "Ma" as she was and not as she is now.  Her "son in law" will remember her as she was and not as she is now. The extended family will also remember her as she was and not as she is now.  And with gratitude I can say that I am ok with all of this. 

Life is a journey and everyone needs to find their joy without forgetting to be grateful for everything.  The message on this sign my daughter took a picture of a few weeks ago has resonated with me.  What a perfect end for this year of joy as I move into gratitude.  Good things happen.  Love is real. We will be okay. 

Happy New Year!