The Blessing of Now and Then

Losing your mind may have an upside. For those with dementia or Alzheimer’s the gradual loss of memory seems like a sad thing. Being confined to a locked facility to us would seem like prison. But to an Alzheimer’s patient whose memory is failing, they may not worry about such things any longer. The fact that my father-in-law does not remember that his wife died may be more of a blessing than a curse. All they have is the now!  I believe it is our job to help make their now the best it can be. Living in the present and remembering the distant past is all some of them have left.

         The Blessing of Now and Then

Time creeps in and steals our yesterdays

Remembering the days of youth as clear as a bell

But yesterday crawls quickly into its shell

Recalled no more a cup too full

Footprints in the aging surf

Lost forever in its tide

Memories dissolve into the present

Nothing else exists time is too short

Living now is all we have in the echo of the toll

Joy in the day people no longer hold us back

Every experience treasured in the receding tide

Feeling exhilarated not knowing why

Family and friend’s joy and sorrow let go without a thought

Immediately lost in the disappearing foot prints of time

Photos: Dwight L. Roth