FULL CIRCLE

On a warm September day in 1960 my mom and dad hugged me and wiped the tears from my eyes as they struggled to walk away and leave me behind in that little brick building on my first day of school at the Montreal Association for the Blind. Little did we know that 44 years later I would be the one to hug my mom and struggle to turn and walk away after leaving her on her first day in the Gilman residence for seniors at the MAB. We have truly come full circle. I have found a new appreciation for the pain that my parents must have felt on that day, so many years ago.

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to go from being one of the children to becoming the primary care-giver of one of your parents? Have you ever had to stand by and watch your mother as she struggles to remember someone’s name, or try to remember what she just ate for lunch or heard the panic in her voice because she can’t remember where she put her glasses or her keys?

It must be one of the most difficult things for families to go through when the time comes to convince a parent to leave his/her home and all of its memories. How does one decide what to keep, what to give away and what to sell when your mom wants to bring her whole life with her? Where does one find the strength to get through it?

In March 2004 because of deteriorating vision caused by macular degeneration and cataracts, my mom moved into the Gilman residence. I’m so fortunate to have her so close by. I’m able to visit her as often as I please, have lunch with her on occasion and even go out for a meal or for short shopping trips.

Gladys, my guide dog, loves to go to Gilman. She loves to have me take off her harness and give her permission to visit with my mom and my mother-in-law, who has also been a resident in Gilman for five years. She often goes around the sitting room putting a paw or a wet nose in an empty lap, trying to brighten someone’s day just a little.

Thank you Gilman for making my mom’s new home a happy one.

Christine