A Gift from My Cousin, Pam

My Mom & Aunt Lucy infront of 16 Lindal St.

Today I received an email with a link to a photo book.  My cousin, Pam, had sent it to me.  In September, my mom visited my Aunt Lucy (Pam's mom) in England.  The link had several photos of Mom and her sister, Lucy.

For months, my Mom had been worried about her sister.  I kept telling her to just go and visit Lucy.  Mom would bring up all sorts of excuses and finally with Pam's help, we convinced her to go.

Mom enjoyed her stay with Lucy but knows that Lucy will be going home soon.  My dear Aunt has dementia and by the looks of the pictures has lost a lot of weight.  The dementia is bothering Mom as well as me.

I remember visiting Aunt Lucy in England at my other cousin's (Elaine) house.  It was fun sitting in the kitchen and playing a game similar to Jeopardy but with music.  Bill, Elaine's hubby would ask Aunt Lucy if she recognized the classical music that he would play, who wrote it and when.  Lucy was so sharp even in her 70s she got them right 95% of the time.

Aunt Lucy in Arnside at the Retirement Home

When she visited me here in Oregon, she would read some of my books while I was at work.  When I came home, she would inform me of the contents of the books she read and we had many conversations on different subjects in my books. 

When she was 65 years old, she earned a degree in nursing at Manchester University.  She loved being amongst the younger students and was a kick to be with.

Now at 87, she has dementia and that is startling to me.  I will always remember the Aunt Lucy that visited me here, the way she was when I visited in England and growing up with her as my favorite aunt. Her dementia is getting worse and it is sad to know that she has forgotten so much.