Taking Care as We Age

Tomorrow is my mom’s birthday. My mom died in her 60’s from Alzheimer’s disease. She got it in her 50’s, which was much earlier than most people. My mom wasn’t perfect, but she was a dear person with a gentle heart and a beautiful voice (she loved to sing).

It’s hard to say whether or not she could have side-stepped the genetic cards that she was dealt that robbed her quality of life and the years she should have been able to enjoy as a grandmother. As I look back, mom didn’t really do anything that might have been preventative. She wasn’t exactly a role model of health. She smoked. Her weight fluctuated from a size 4 to a size 16 depending on her current mental state. When she cooked, she used Crisco and bacon grease to fry meat & potatoes. She didn’t continue to learn (important for brain health). And the most I remember her exercising is watching her doing leg lifts while eating ice cream at the kitchen counter. Now, don’t get me wrong… I’m not writing this to criticize my mom. Far from it. I’m writing this because I wish…

I wish she would have gone for walks, gone for a swim, gone dancing…
I wish she would have eaten more fruits and vegetables…
I wish she would have drank more water and less coffee…
I wish she would have taken her vitamins…
I wish she would have had less stress…
I wish she would have read more books or done puzzles…
I wish she would have stopped smoking…

Maybe her genetic cards would have been the same. Then again, there’s a real possibility things could have been different for her. Because…

I wish she could have told stories to my children…
I wish she could have seen her 1st granddaughter get married…
I wish I could hear her singing…
I wish I could smell her perfume…
I wish I could hug my mom and tell her happy birthday.

(Take care of yourself. Other people in this world need you around.)