More time to love...

Dying isn’t easy. The loss of a loved one can be devastating. Doesn’t matter whether it comes from Alzheimer’s or a stroke or heart attack or cancer or an accident. Doesn’t matter whether it’s a lingering death or an instant death. It still is devastating. But I discovered that the slow, gradual loss of Jeanne was, in a way, a blessing. I could have lost Jeanne in a traffic accident, let’s say, in 1994. And had the loss over and done with. And then I wouldn’t have had to go through the 13 years of helping Jeanne cope with Alzheimer’s. All those years of being a care-giver. But hey, in this sense, I consider Alzheimer’s a blessing. It gave me extra time with Jeanne. It gave me more precious moments. More time to appreciate Jeanne. More time to love Jeanne. --Jim Broede