We’ve been using a lot of pillows to position Mitzi on the bed to help keep her comfortable. Truth be told, she hasn’t been out of bed since Sunday. It’s hard for me to even write those words and I’ve avoided writing them all week. But it’s the reality. The wheelchairs are no longer taking up room or getting in the way. Her “ruby slippers” as I called them are under the bed, but we don’t need them anymore. Because Alzheimer’s, like Life itself, has no Pause button. We’ve been walking down this path for as long as I’ve been Mitzi’s sidekick, and I was no stranger to what we were walking towards, every day, no matter what. Even when it did seem like we would find a temporary Pause button to push.
I digress.
Back to the pillows.
Gary pulled out a pillowcase from the deep recesses of the linen closet. I almost did a happy dance when I saw Charlie Brown and all my childhood friends in vibrant color in the room that is being taken over by the end stage. I fell in love with this pillowcase and, I’m not going to lie, I totally teared up when I read what it said:
Happiness is being one of the gang.
Gary said this was Mitzi’s pillowcase when she was a teenager. I laughed and thought, could there be a more perfect pillow for this gal?! She absolutely loved all those who were in her gang and loved being part of so many gangs of friendships over the years. I joked one time to her husband that Mitzi needs people to breathe. I get it. I’m the same way. We may be opposites in a million other instances, but we both love people and need them almost as much as air. And we both will cast the nets wide to pull as many into our sphere as possible.
What a blessing it has been and a tremendous honor to have found the happiness that exists in being one (of the many) in Mitzi’s gang…????
