Home
Well, I made it home safe and sound. It was a beautiful drive home on an absolutely gorgeous day. That's not just my optimistic perspective now that exams are over, but there literally was not a cloud in the sky and it was crystal clear. Maybe I'll post some pictures tomorrow that I took on my drive up. Besides the fact that there was frost on the beach, it was perfect weather to enjoy the West Coast.
It's nice to be back home and with my family, although, really, it's just the girls right now. My dad's away for work, one of my brother's has run off to a U2 concert, and the other one won't be home for Christmas. So, it's us girls left here to prepare for Christmas.
I've already gone and spent some time visiting with my grandparents. My Oma has just been very recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's and is really going downhill in terms of her level of functioning. I think it's hard on my Opa too. She didn't know who I was when I went to visit her this afternoon, which is really sad. She didn't know my name or that I was even a part of her family, and yet my parents house is literally five houses up the street from my grandparents and I probably spent more time with them than with my parents when I was growing up since my parents worked. She used to braid my hair in French braids every morning when I was a little girl. She'd braid them so tight it would hurt, but I was happy because I got to watch cartoons while she braided my hair and we didn't have a tv at home so it was a special treat.
Anyways, it's tough to see her going through this because she's constantly making comments such as "No one wants me any more," "I'm just a dumb empty carton," "I forget everything," "I learned so much, and now it's all gone." I think she's probably very frightened because she realizes what's happening. She really was a brilliant woman and now she is forgetting so much. The youngest of ten children, she was raised by her mom in Germany (her dad died when she was three years old), studied at university there and then was sponsored to come to Canada after the war by her brother who was an Augustinian priest in Vancouver. She studied in Canada and got her Master's in French Literature, met my Opa, got married and raised four kids. Her passion though was learning. She was a 1950s housewife who spoke six languages fluently, knew European History like no one else I've ever met, and had a master's degree! But now she says it's all gone and she's just an empty box.
Hearing her repeat over and over again (in various languages and forms) how everything is lost as she slowly is loosing touch with reality makes me so grateful for my Faith. She was raised Catholic but stopped practicing her Faith over forty years ago. Interestingly, she has just recently started going to Mass again with our family because she doesn't like being left home alone (or my Opa doesn't trust her home alone) and her husband (my Opa) goes to Mass with our family. I'm praying that something more is going on there though.
I've gotta run to go sing at the Advent wreath with my family and go to Mass.
More later...
It's nice to be back home and with my family, although, really, it's just the girls right now. My dad's away for work, one of my brother's has run off to a U2 concert, and the other one won't be home for Christmas. So, it's us girls left here to prepare for Christmas.
I've already gone and spent some time visiting with my grandparents. My Oma has just been very recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's and is really going downhill in terms of her level of functioning. I think it's hard on my Opa too. She didn't know who I was when I went to visit her this afternoon, which is really sad. She didn't know my name or that I was even a part of her family, and yet my parents house is literally five houses up the street from my grandparents and I probably spent more time with them than with my parents when I was growing up since my parents worked. She used to braid my hair in French braids every morning when I was a little girl. She'd braid them so tight it would hurt, but I was happy because I got to watch cartoons while she braided my hair and we didn't have a tv at home so it was a special treat.
Anyways, it's tough to see her going through this because she's constantly making comments such as "No one wants me any more," "I'm just a dumb empty carton," "I forget everything," "I learned so much, and now it's all gone." I think she's probably very frightened because she realizes what's happening. She really was a brilliant woman and now she is forgetting so much. The youngest of ten children, she was raised by her mom in Germany (her dad died when she was three years old), studied at university there and then was sponsored to come to Canada after the war by her brother who was an Augustinian priest in Vancouver. She studied in Canada and got her Master's in French Literature, met my Opa, got married and raised four kids. Her passion though was learning. She was a 1950s housewife who spoke six languages fluently, knew European History like no one else I've ever met, and had a master's degree! But now she says it's all gone and she's just an empty box.
Hearing her repeat over and over again (in various languages and forms) how everything is lost as she slowly is loosing touch with reality makes me so grateful for my Faith. She was raised Catholic but stopped practicing her Faith over forty years ago. Interestingly, she has just recently started going to Mass again with our family because she doesn't like being left home alone (or my Opa doesn't trust her home alone) and her husband (my Opa) goes to Mass with our family. I'm praying that something more is going on there though.
I've gotta run to go sing at the Advent wreath with my family and go to Mass.
More later...
posted by DP | 6:03 PM
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