Memorial Day

This is Memorial Weekend - one where we honor the fallen and the living soldiers that fought (and are still fighting) to make our country the best place to live. My father is a WWII Veteran and I love to hear the stories he tells about being shot down over France and his experiences. He tells anyone who will listen about how many missions he was in as a Belly Gunner in a B-17. His memory of those days is a sharp as ever and he recalls them with certainty of every event. Yet, today, every event is a mystery, he loses his glasses on a daily basis and doesn't remember how to use a screwdriver or make toast. You see, my father is suffering from Alzheimer's, a debilitating disease that afflicts thousands each year. He can remember vivid details of his youth and of the war, but he loses contact with the world he lives in today. I am so grateful that he remembers names of family, friends and we are very blessed that this disease hasn't taken that away. It has robbed him of his love for plants and the orchids he spent all his life raising. Daddy can still take care of his own personal needs, with reminders, which my mother detests! My mother, God Bless her, is amazing. She endures more in one day than many don't encounter in lifetime, yet she believes that it is her duty to care for him and not place him in a nursing home. Her fear - that he would strongly object and possibly become violent. My parents still live in the house I grew up in and I don't think they will ever leave. My mother is a typical "Joan of Arc" and will "Stand by Her Man" until they die. I appreciate that generation for their tenacity to endure whatever is in God's plan for them, never questioning why.
So Happy Memorial Day, Daddy! Thank you for standing up for this Country! I pray that you keep telling those "war stories" and keep those memories alive! You are still a soldier fighting this new battle.