We only see the shell, the facade.

On the Alzheimer's message boards, two women -- Joanie and Johanna -- made observations about their mothers and how they related to them. And I found that fascinating. It tells me they are truly trying to understand what made their mothers tick. Why they were the way they were. And maybe the impact that may have had on their own personalities. I like it that they decided to share so much.

I was fortunate in that my mother had a long life. Lived to 88. And she had a good mind, right up to the very end. And while she was in her 80s I had remarkable conversations with her. I got her to open up, and tell me things about her life that I never knew before. Things she had never shared with anyone else. And it helped me to understand why mother was mother. I am grateful that she lived so very long, and that she confided in me so much of what she had hid deep inside herself. And had not shared. Even with my father and my step father. Finally, I felt I really knew my mother. Unfortunately, all too often, we never really get to know some of the people who really are closest to us. We only see the shell, the facade. --Jim Broede