Picture This

My depression deepened with each falling tear. Dealing with Mom’s Alzheimer’s was difficult for both of us. I was unprepared for the feelings of isolation and exhaustion. I cried quietly, wishing things were different.

I looked around her living room. Pictures covered the tables. As I studied each photo, I was met with glimpses of Mom’s past. Some of her favorite moments were captured here as reminders of happier times. There she was looking beautiful on her wedding day, there smiling wide with the three of us children huddled within the folds of her skirt. In another photograph, she knelt, planting iris bulbs in her garden. I realized how much she had given of herself throughout her life.

I started to cry again, but this time, the tears were not born from sadness. Instead, I experienced the joy she felt in each picture, and the memory of her strength filled me with a sense of calmness. I knew the days ahead were not going to get any easier, but I now felt certain I could meet each challenge with a renewed spirit.