Grandma Perkins

Today a random memory popped into my head.  For those who dont know, my Grandma Perkins has alzheimers disease.  These days it is really bad, and she is in a home, but thats not what this post is about.  

             About 6 or 7 years ago I was at my grandma's house, just keeping an eye on her.  Her alzheimers was not as bad back then, but it wasnt good either.  I was watching tv and she was in the next room reading the paper.  I kept hearing her chuckle. (one thing about my grandma is that she never "laughs" its always a chuckle) I went in to see what she was chuckling about and she showed me the funny she was reading in the paper.  She always loved to read "Family Circle" in the comic section. So, I read the comic, laughed lightly (more to make her think I thought it was as funny as her....) and then went back into the other room.  No more than 4 minutes later, I heard her chuckling again and she yelled, "Ashleigh, come read this!"  I went back into the dining area where she was and she showed me the exact same comic that she had shown me 4 minutes before.  I laughed harder this time, more at the fact that she had already shown it to me.  I went and sat back down and within a few minutes, it happened again...and again....and then a couple more times.  I found it amusing and cute at the same time that she could sit there for an hour reading the same comic over and over again, laughing as hard as she did the first time that she had read it. She had no idea that she had already read the comic. 

             It just got me thinking...as terrible as alzheimers disease is, there can be beauty in it- just like there is beauty in every situation we come across...even though we may think there is no beauty to be found.  Even in the worst of situations, we need to try to find the beauty and the positive in it.  It's Christmas time, and that means that we should all be counting our blessings and being as happy as we can be.  We all have a lot to be thankful for, and no matter what is going on in our lives, we need to go back and "re-read our comic section" and realize how great our life really is...no matter what happens.  

My Dad, Grandma Perkins, Me, and Grandpa Perkins.

Christmas 1993