“In a matter of months, she began to rapidly decline. Mild confusion turned to disorientation. We witnessed her turn into a shell of who she once was. She no longer recognizes us. It has been gut-wrenching to watch her be so unaware of herself and her surroundings, especially for a woman who, in the past, wouldn’t have even entertained the thought of being seen without her hair properly curled.”
‘She slipped her small frame into my son’s skinny jeans. It was cute, but sad. My heart broke.’: Woman details mother-in-law’s journey with Alzheimer’s, ‘her mind and body are slipping away’
‘Hey, I have something to show you.’ My grandpa pulled out a cup, her name still on it. It’s been 20 years.’: Grandpa surprises daughter with late grandmother’s keepsake, reminds us to ‘live in the joy of the present’
“This past Christmas, as I was writing everyone’s names on their red solo cups, my grandpa pulled me aside with a grin and reached into the top corner of a cabinet. ‘I dug it out of the trash after everyone left.’ He knew it would be the last time the love of his life celebrated Christmas. Make sure to send that text, make that call, go to that birthday party. Because, sometimes, we don’t know.”
‘Well the doctor said I am crazier than him!’ Grandma exclaimed with a look I couldn’t quite place.’: Granddaughter learns important lesson in caring for elders, ‘I didn’t know it then. Everything ends.’
“4 months after I had the baby, Grandma passed away. My kids learned to honor the elderly. They learned to put someone else’s needs above their own. They soaked in the last possible days with people that spent a lifetime pouring into all of us. For that, I have no regrets.”
‘I don’t want to be sick. I hope I just go to sleep and wake up in heaven.’: Woman thanks husband’s family for sharing ‘spunky’ Nana with her after losing father to suicide
“I started dating Matt, my future husband, and quickly learned he lived with his grandmother. I didn’t want Nana to think less of me. But several months into our relationship, she bought new sheets and extra pillows for Matt’s bed — point taken!”
‘Sweetie, you do that far too often. Stop apologizing for your family.’ Wait.’: Mom shocked by elderly woman’s reassuring kind gesture out in public
“When I’m in public, I’m constantly apologizing for our family. I whisper, ‘Shh, baby. No shouting please.’ But yesterday, a grandmother-type woman stopped me in my tracks.”
‘Who’s that in the picture?’ A question that knocks the wind out of me every single time.’: Grieving daughter explains to young son that’s ‘Nana in Heaven,’ promises ‘she’s always there’
“I can’t ever prepare myself for the times my son will find her picture and ask who she is. It’s someone he should know. Once I catch my breath, I tell him the same story I tell him every time.”
‘I’m Claire. I’m 90. I’m single. And I don’t need no man! Mic drop.’: 90-year-old woman hilariously praises ‘hubby-free’ life, claims it’s ‘the secret to living long’
“I’m a prune, I know. But a living prune nonetheless! I don’t have Alzheimer’s. I don’t use a cane. Yes, I remember what I ate for dinner 3 nights ago. And I don’t have a husband! No, he didn’t die off on me. I didn’t outlive him. He never existed! I’m convinced these leafy greens aren’t the only reason I’m been alive and truckin’ this long!”
‘I’m trying to make up for lost time with my wife, 3 children,’ he said. It broke my heart to hear him.’: Wife realizes husband has ‘been very busy’ putting family first, while ‘never falling behind’ in work
“It broke my heart. Here was the man who gave his family everything. Allowing me to stay home and raise our children. He’d wake up in the middle of the night to attend to them. Took time off when I was sick. Always has special daddy-daughter time. Let me sleep in and would do housework, so I didn’t have to worry. He is the most successful person I’ve ever met. My husband has been very busy.”
‘Others think you’re stupid. They’ll laugh when you flap your arms. But you were created special on purpose.’: Mom of daughter with Rett Syndrome details emotional moment grandma’s love quiets her symptoms
“You see, my daughter’s syndrome doesn’t allow you to touch her face or hands. That day, I saw Ivy on the love seat with granny. They both leaned in, foreheads touching, and granny was holding Ivy’s hands and face! Ivy was SMILING and listening to granny quietly speak. ‘You are special. You are good enough. You are different…on purpose.’ No matter the diagnosis or prognosis, I KNEW my Ivy heard granny and understood.”
‘Not even Amazon Prime can deliver a gift to Heaven. You run to the phone hoping this time it will say ‘Nana Calling.’: Granddaughter says Grandparents Day ‘looks different’ after your grandparents die
“A lot of people tell you how you should move on. You hope you’ve turned out to be every bit like Grandma. You dodge the card aisle because you can’t bring yourself to read them.”
