Precious Memories.....

You know.....This world that we live in is ever changing.   We all know this, don't we?

My oh my....how it has changed since my childhood days...not to mention the change since my dad was just a kid.

For the past six months, I've been visiting my dad all most every day at the nursing home.  I guess you could say that I visit all fourteen of the men who live in the memory care unit, each day.  

They all have Alzheimer's and each one lives in their own little world.   One thing that they have in common, is the memories of their childhood days.

My heart is touched, because the words that I hear them speak, are the memories that they have about the days gone by. They are not in tune to the happenings of today...it's their lives as a child that have remained so alive in their minds. 

My dad remembers the days of plowing in the fields with his old mule, and shucking corn under the cottonwood tree.  He also remembers riding his horse down the dirt roads and playing on the banks of the shallow creeks.

Most of all....he remembers the home cooked meals that his mom prepared each day.  The hot biscuits and fried chicken must have been a favorite. I've heard many stories of catching chickens and frying them up. 

Dad feels comfort when he sees the photo of his mom and dad, which hangs on the wall, across from his bed.   He has sweet remembrances of the days long ago.  

There are many days when he spends all day long playing with his brothers and sisters....at the old home place or down at the creek bed.

  We (me and dad) visit that old home place almost every day!! Of course...it's only in his memory, that we walk the grounds together...taking a moment every now and then to skip rocks across the pond like we did yesterday.

While visiting this past week....I had a thought that crossed my mind. What about those who are yet to come?

I pray that there is a quick cure for Alzheimer's....but until that day, my mind thinks to the young people of today?  

I pray not....but what if in later years..there are those they are stricken with this horrible disease?  What kind of childhood memories will sustain them?

Will it be.. Picking up a biscuit at a drive thru?  Will it be the letters on a iPhone as the memory of texting comes around?  Perhaps there will be a memory of occasionally getting to bed before mid-night, only to wake again in the early morning to head out the door again.

What about their PLAY TIME?  What play time???

I suppose this could be a memory....  Cramming a hundred activities into any given day! Having the feeling of total exhaustion as there is only one more thing to do.

Do you get what I'm saying here?

  From picking up a biscuit at a drive thru, to cramming a hundred activities into a day....these things...DO NOT ....sound very delightful to me.

I'm happy that my dad (and all of the other residents at the memory care unit) have their precious memories that fill their days!

Just some deep thoughts here....

Shug ~