Today I have a very special request. I am trying to raise funds for the fight against Alzheimer's disease. You see, my mother has this disease and it's been one of the hardest journeys of my entire life.
This disease is insidious. It's evil. My mother is a kind, caring, loving lady. Strong and courageous. She's a bonafide member of the greatest generation. She lived her life with dignity and humility. She knew how to pinch a penny so hard it would bleed a dollar.
She worked hard as a wife and mother, doing whatever it took to add to the financial income of the family. For years every fall, when we were younger, she picked apples. I remember coming home from school and our house smelling like fresh picked apples, because along with her 13 cents a bushel that she was paid for picking, she was given a bushel to bring home. She made apple pies, apple sauce, apple butter, apple cake, apple fritters and baked apples to name a few of the culinary treasures she would come up with. Later on, she went to work for the United States Post Office and worked her way up to Postmaster. She retired from that position after 33 years of service.
During the WWII years, she was a teenage "airplane spotter" and did whatever she had to do to contribute to the war efforts. She lost a boyfriend during the war and kept his letters tied with a black ribbon in a cedar chest, along with my sister's and my ballet shoes and costumes and my two brothers first toys and some of our baby clothes. She took special care of preserving my father's Army AirCorp uniform. And while their marriage ended in divorce, she was making cookies for him and making sure he was doing okay, until the day he died. She saved and savored sweet memories.
Now, she has no memories. She lost everything she'd ever worked for to this disease and it also took her memories. Her story is not unique. This is the "common" story among Alzheimer's victims.
On Saturday, September 20, 2014, I am joining our local Walk to End Alzheimer's Disease. I signed up late, so I'm busy trying to raise funds to help fight this monster with the sincere hope that you or I will have hope for a cure.
If you can please help, I would appreciate it. I'm attaching a link to my web site where you can donate, or join a walk in your area.
Thank you for whatever you can do. Here's my page!
