photo by cheryl sparks

I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.
Abraham Lincoln

Lola is waiting for her brother.

Gus is having surgery today.

He "popped his patella".

There is never a dull moment!!

i choose joy

C.

photo by cheryl sparks

C.S.Lewis wrote, "Joy is the serious business of heaven."

Paul speaks to us of joy in Phillippians 4

In verse 6 he says, "Don't worry about anything whatsoever..."

SURE

This would sound like Pollyanna

(I have been accused of being like her)

But Paul is in prison when he writes this.

He knows adversity and is saying

REJOICE

REALLY

God is keeping watch over our hearts and minds.

God is constantly on duty.*

it doesn't always feel that way.

but i still choose joy.

one baby step at a time.

*take from sermon at west prespbytarian church

Frontotemporal Dementia

To my child,

On the day when you see me old, weak and weary,

Have patience and try to understand me.

If I get dirty when eating,

If I can not dress on my own,

Please bear with me and remember the times

I spent feeding and dressing you up.

If, when I speak to you,

I repeat the same things over and over again,

Do not interrupt me. Listen to me.

When you were small,

I had to read to you one thousand and one times

The same story until you went to sleep.

When I do not want to have a shower,

Neither shame nor scold us.

Remember when I had to chase you

With your thousand excuses to get you to the shower.

When you see my ignorance on new technologies,

Help me navigate my way through those world wide webs.

I taught you how to do so many things,

To eat the right foods, to dress appropriately,

To fight for your rights.

When at some moment I lose the memory

Or the thread of our conversation,

Let me have the necessary time to remember.

And if we can not, do not become nervous,

As the most important thing is not my conversation,

But surely to be with you and to have you listening to me.

If ever I do not want to eat, do not force me.

I know well when I need to and when not to.

When my tired legs give way

And do not allow me to walk without a cane,

Lend me your hand. The same way I did,

When you first tried your faltering steps.

And when someday I say to you,

That I do not want to live any more. That I want to die!

Do not get angry. Some day you will understand.

Try to understand that my age is not lived but survived.

Some day you will realize that, despite my mistakes,

I always wanted the best thing for you

And I tried to prepare the way for you.

You must not feel sad, angry nor ashamed

For seeing me near you.

Instead, try to understand me and help me

Like I did when you were young.

Help me to walk.

Help me to end my way with love and dignity.

I will pay you by a smile and by the immense love

I have always had for you in my heart.

I love you,

Dad

I think this is what Kenny would say to Alexandra and Graham if he could.

Some of it he might say to me, too.

The link below is our story.

www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/12/14/frontotemporal.dementia/index.html?iref=allsearch

"Children are made readers on the laps of their parents." — Emilie Buchwald

It helps us, as parents to feel better if we remind them of our failures with them! And how they turned out just fine despite our imperfections....

I read this somewhere, and I know it is true...

Art is like baby shoes. When you coat them with gold, they can no longer be worn. John Updike

photo by cheryl sparks

These were mine. Does anyone do this anymore? I didn't with my two. Was life too busy? I don't remember....