Why I Will Never Stop Grieving the Loss of My Mother to Alzheimer’s Disease
I will never stop grieving the loss of my mother to Alzheimer’s disease. I thought that when my mother died, my grief would soon be over. But I was wrong.
5 Things My Mother’s Early Onset Alzheimer’s Taught Me about Motherhood
Before I had babies, the last diaper I changed was my mother’s. She entered hospice care when I was pregnant with my first daughter and passed away, almost two years later, when I was pregnant with my second daughter. Despite the grief and struggle, taking care of my mom as her health declined through early onset Alzheimer’s disease prepared…
When My Mother Forgot My Birthday because of Her Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease
My mother forgot my seventeenth birthday. My junior prom had been the evening before, and I slept over at a friend’s house. When I walked through the front door with my overnight bag that Sunday morning, I fully expected a “Happy Birthday” greeting from my family, yet I received none. Exhausted from the late-night shenanigans…
The Reality Behind Love of Dixie: Journaling My Mother’s Early Onset Alzheimer’s
This is the real story of Love of Dixie. This blog began as a journal of my mother’s early onset Alzheimer’s disease. The reality behind Love of Dixie This blog has now sold thousands of Texas Strong t-shirts and published a children’s book. But, back then, it was not glamorous or funny or popular or…
Why Permission to Grieve is Important for Growth
My mother left me ill prepared to grieve. I remember standing at the closed door of my mother’s walk-in closet, as a young child, listening to her cry, on more than one occasion. Years later, I know that she was trying to protect me from the depths of her grief, as she struggled to survive a second trimester…