Based on the title of this post, I bet you are thinking this is about me, yes it’s true no one ever really visits me anymore but, this blog post is actually about my Father specifically, or maybe both of my parents.👫
My Father is 84 and has mild #dementia / early #Alzheimer’s. Sadly my Father has not been out of bed 🛏️ in nearly 2 years and in those same 2 years, no one has come to visit him and no one has called for him specifically. Admittedly and unfortunately, both of his parents and only two siblings have already passed away along with most of his few friends. What makes this especially hard, is that my Father doesn’t always understand, and is not always present, and is now sometimes asking why no one is visiting him/them. My hearts breaks 💔 for him/them, especially because with me being #paralyzed and no longer driving, I can not just jump in car 🚘 and visit like I use to and still want to. 😔
For whatever the reasons, we have always been much closer to my Mother’s side of the family (my Mother is 1 of 10) for my entire childhood and most of my adult life. Holidays were celebrated with minimum of somewhere between 30-40 people and very often many of us would be gathered at one’s house just because we were visiting. My Mother is the youngest of the 10 and sadly as of this writing, only 3 of the 10 are still with us. including my Mother.
Think about it, 10 siblings with a spouse is 20 add 28 first cousins you have 48 people for any giving holiday gathering! As years went on, those 28 first cousins started dating or getting married resulting in 62 or more for Thanksgiving 🦃 (which I believe we stopped Thanksgiving gathering when the number hit 75).
Then as my Mother’s older siblings started aging, my parents went to visit as often as possible and tried to do what they could to help considering my parents had my #disabled brother who couldn’t be left alone his entire life. Unfortunately, all my maternal aunts/uncles (except 2) have already passed so there is no one left to visit my Father and I don’t believe he remembers that most have passed on. Except for a few, most of my 28 first cousins have moved on with their lives and many have moved away, again leaving no one left to visit. 😔
The mind is a funny thing for sure. Sadly, that feeling of sadness 😔 and loneliness my Father is having is very real whether one is consciously aware of it or not. My Father and I both have no visitors, the difference is I am aware of that sad 😔 fact and my Father isn’t. . .who has is harder???
As always, I wish you a journey filled with exploring new people, places and things – take time to learn from and enjoy each new adventure along your way!
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