Conversation Continued

I told you about Kate and my conversation that she was a child of Alzheimer’s. I checked in with my other two this weekend. Eric stopped me quickly. “Mom, we are not having this conversation now”. I asked him why and he told me it was too much to handle. I talked to Liz who also said she is very careful about who she tells. She needs to know they not only support her but understand the significance of what she is telling them.

Tonight I had class. I came home late. Joe was disoriented and I got him to bed. I went to get a glass of wine and Eric joined me in the kitchen. He poured me a glass of wine and as we stood there talking, he broke down. This afternoon Dad was very confused about a movie and DVD set. I hope you know by now that Joe is a movie and music geek. He has a huge collection and passed this along to his children.

Eric hugged me and cried on my shoulder. “Mom, he always knew this stuff. And today he didn’t understand any of it”. I tried to tell him that as we lost so much of his dad, the essence of him, the goodness and love, was only amplified. It didn’t work. And to be honest, how could it. My children lost one of the best man out there, Joe’s Dad, way too early. But here they are faced with losing their Dad, also an amazing man. And they are watching him leave them piece by piece. No wonder it’s called the long goodbye.