Mom passed away this evening.
All of us here at Stumped Town Dementia are grateful that you have accompanied us on this journey. We thank you for bolstering our bravery, picking us up when we fell hard and fast, joining us in laughter, commiserating with us in tears.
I have something else to ask of you.
If you would be so kind as to pour yourself a favorite beverage and do these three things:
Send up a "Cheers!" to our mother Gloria, for a life well-lived before and after dementia.
Send up a "Cheers!" to your dementia person or people, whether they are currently giving you one helluva sleepless night or have already passed on to greet my mother in the hereafter.
Send up a "Cheers!" to yourself, for your caregiver successes, your caregiver fails, your caregiver courage, and most of all, for your caregiver heart.
Mom is free. She now sees what you all have done for her daughters. Who knows?
She may just "Cheers!" you right back for that.