I had the honor this evening of sitting down with my camera and my new friends Mary and her husband Steve. Steve is 66 and is living with Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease. Ironically, he is at the same memory care residence where I used to take Mitzi to volunteer up until the summer of 2018. It brought back a ton of memories, and I was happy to get to see some of Mitzi’s favorite friends mixed in among the new faces.
Mary goes to visit every evening after Steve finishes his dinner and she spends time with him. They walk in the gardens, rock on the porch, and watch TV together until it’s time for Mary to help Steve get ready for bed and settle in for the night. It was so clear that he loves being with her; he was sweet and affectionate, and didn’t let her out of his sight. He isn’t able to speak much, yet mumbles a few discernible words here and there to give you an idea of which direction the wheels of his mind are turning. The most beautiful thing about watching Steve and Mary as they walked hand and hand in front of me was that the words didn’t matter anymore. This is living for the moment at its for-better-or-for-worst finest, and these two simply nail it.
It was truly a blessing to me to get to witness this authentic love story play out in front of me. Mary’s commitment is exceptional, though I know it comes with great personal heartache and a price that cannot be measured except in the dividends that get paid back by his smiles, hugs, and his kisses. She said it is an honor to be there for him during this.
I can’t wait to share their sweet story soon. As if I needed any validation that I was right where I was supposed to be this evening, I was driving and stopped in a parking lot to take an unexpected call from Mitzi’s cousin. While we were chatting, I looked up as a flurry of red feathers darted in and out of the tree in front of me. I asked her to hang on while I put the phone on speaker and took a picture of one of the 3 cardinals perched in the tree long enough for me to capture him and send it to her with the time stamp to prove it.
Not a question in the world that it was no accident I pulled over to have that conversation in front of that particular tree…
