Do not go gentle

My father died when I was 18. He and my mom were still married at the time, and my mom had spent the prior 5 years taking care of him as the inevitable approached. I know she felt a deep love for my father, but they were the kind of couple that shared a strong passion, but did not otherwise have much in common.

4 years after his death, she met Theo. He loves to do all the things she loves to do. So they spent all of their retirement years dancing, partying, hiking, traveling, going to the opera and then some more partying. Its been wonderful to see my mom so happy...enjoying her favorite things with her favorite person.

This year, though...something changed in Theo. He's no longer able to do the NY Times crossword puzzle each morning and he doesn't have the interest he used to have in egyptian history and quantum physics. He also began throwing out crazy numbers for common things such as weights and temperatures...

Several months ago she received the diagnosis for his confusion...Alzheimers.

Theo is a spunky little fighter and I'm certain he will astound all with how long he will conquer...but my mom has been through this, and she understands all too well the inevitability of the inevitable.

and the loss of a partner.

Yesterday she told me of her plans to go to Europe this summer with Theo. They will be gone for about 6 weeks. And they are both cashing in their nest eggs to do it with. A sort of no holds barred...party for the two of them to enjoy.

She had a wry delightful smile on her face when she said it. Only a slight nod of the head, and a knowing look at me, gave hint to her underlying fear. She made certain that Theo only saw the delight.

Then she asked when Michael and I were getting married so that she could schedule her trip around our wedding.

No Mom. You tell me when you want to go. We'll do the rescheduling.

And we'll enjoy every precious moment of our time together, in your honor.