Simply Missing Mom

I write for another blog, totally outside photography, BeAwareBetterCare.com. It's the blog for the Friendship Centers here in Sarasota. My Dad and I first got to know them through their Caregiver's Support Group when we were dealing with the battle of my mother's Alzheimer's.  Parts of this post were from something I wrote a couple of weeks ago for them, but I wanted to share it here for two reasons. First, where would we be without photographs? Second, many of you have become part of my extended family and it means a lot to be able to share some personal moments now and then.

Today is Mom's birthday and although she passed away in June, I find myself actually feeling her presence a little more every day. I know she's watching over all of us. While there are times when I wish we had been closer over the years, (I was always on the other side of the country) I'm grateful for the time Sheila and I had with her for the last two years.

Photographs we have of all of us together along with videos clips, just make me smile. There's a story behind every image and that's all thanks to this industry we're a part of. So many of you take for granted the potential of each photograph you capture to truly freeze a memory. You're magicians and every day you take the intangible and turn them into moments we can actually hold in our hands and stare at for hours.

Sheila and Mom, Feb. 19, 2013

For some reason, Alzheimer's took a break when Mom met Sheila five years ago. Mom always recognized her, although she was convinced they had grown up together.  However, that never changed the way Mom would smile, laugh and share some moment out of the past, just because Sheila had come into the room.

I found a quote the other day about aging that got me thinking...

“The older I get, the more I see there are these crevices in life where things fall in and you just can't reach them to pull them back out. So you can sit next to them and weep or you can get up and move forward. You have to stop worrying about who's not here and start worrying about who is.”  Alex Witchel

Mom finally lost the battle to Alzheimer's, but Dad's still here and today we're just going to head out to a place Mom would have loved, right along the beach. Mom loved any place close to the water. Over the years I can't count the number of restaurant hostesses who had to put up with Mom switching tables at any water side restaurant. She had to have a clear view of the water!  Yeah, I miss my mother, but at my age how many "kids" still have their Dad around? He'll be 92 in October.

A great quote to close on, from Mark Twain:  "Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been."

Photo Credit: Cantrell Portrait Design

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