Not a Minute to Waste

Ann was starting to slip.  Her doctor had her take a behind-the-wheel driving test and, sure enough, they took her license. Her kids said, and she agreed, that she needed more help at home.

She had only just been diagnosed with dementia, but she already couldn't call up words. It was like they were in a locked chest. She and her kids knew that, in time, her memories would disappear.

Her daughter, Sara, called me saying there was no time to waste.

Ann and I got to work on recalling and preserving her stories before it was too late. When we met, I asked questions that made it easy for Ann to paint a picture of where she grew up and the people that impacted her. She described life on the ranch and time spent with her sweet aunts. She talked about raising her babies and her pride in the decent people they had become. 

After I pulled the content together, I read Ann's letter aloud to her.

She smiled and said,

"This is a family treasure. You never know what’s going to come through the doorstep and that when it does, it will be so fulfilling. Our letter is something that’s permanent and will always be there to come home to."

Her dementia progressed until, finally, her ability to communicate fell away. 

When Ann died, Sara read her mother's letter at her memorial service. After several years of not hearing their mother, Sara and her family recognized this woman in the letter, they heard her voice as she told her stories. And they felt - and continue to feel - her love.