The Beginning...

My beautiful mother, Ellen, was born on September 15, 1929 on the eve of the Great Depression. She grew up near Beatrice, Nebraska during a time when nothing was wasted. It was hot, dusty and money was scarce. She walked a quarter of a mile to the one-room school house where she first learned to speak English.  On a good day, she got beans inside her sandwich instead of lard.  She was the third of four daughers and when she was just 11, her mother succumbed to an infection and died. Raised largely by her older sister Martha, this event marked her life and made her who she is; a deeply caring, compassionate woman who always puts others before herself.  On June 5, 1951 she married her childhood sweetheart.  My name is Elizabeth (Beth) and I am the youngest of five daughters.  I have three living sisters and three beautiful children of my own who at this writing are 14, 12 and 9.  I proudly wear the label "Sandwich Generation".  I am raising and caring for my own children while simultaneously watching and sometimes caring for my 81 year-old mother who suffers from Alzheimer's Disease.  For several years, we were able to successfully dismiss her "forgetfulness" as normal aging. However soon we realized that this was more than just normal aging.  However, convincing my parents of that was a different story. Finally in March 2010 we received the diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease. Her tolerance of the medications tried so far has been dismal and her descent into the "chrysalis" or cocoon of Alzheimer's Disease is occurring faster than we ever anticipated. Meanwhile, my oldest child's launch into High School has occurred simultaneously and I find myself in the busiest decade of my life.  Being born when my parents were 40, I would often joke that they would have to come to my high school graduation in wheelchairs.  Fast forward more than 20 years post-graduation and I have all my children all still at home.  My older sisters (15, 13 and 10 years older) are all grandmothers and all empty-nesters.  Their reflections of this journey will undoubtably be different from my own.  I hope to have them "guest blog" often to lend a different perspective.

Coming blogs will feature her story; the story of the woman she was and still is beneath the disease that now ravages her mind and robs us of this amazing woman. They will also chronicle our journey thus far and take a glimpse into this journey from my children's perspective.