Falling Leaves – The Passing Through Another Season

Its still very much summer here in North Carolina, but the weather is starting to change. My favorite season Fall is in the air. My walk this morning was crisp and the leaves are starting to change a little. The fall rains have been hitting us with great appreciation, because we are finally out of the drought we’ve been in for a couple years.

Fall also reminds me of letting go. My mother’s brother, Ed, has been in and out of the hospital recently. I hear about him through the family grape vine but I’ve had little contact with that side of my family since my mother died in the mid-1970′s. I am approaching the age at which my mom died. I thought she was old back then, but now that I’m here, I realize how young she was.

I hear that Ed has Alzheimer’s disease and his family is taking the long walk to good-bye. I didn’t have the ability to say good-bye to my mom. She was taken too quickly. I wonder what life would be like if she was still alive. Would she, like her brother, also be striken with Alzheimer’s? And since, their is family history of this sad disease, is this too in my destiny? I don’t want to know, hopefully someone will tell me when I really start slipping.

Some of you know that I am involved with the Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI). I am on the Board of directors and have helped Ami Simms, the founder, for several years with her efforts. AAQI is a non-profit 501(c)-3 organization who’s goal is to promote awareness and support research for this disease.

This Sunday, Septemer 21, is  World Alzheimer’s Day. It is a day to remember the 26.6 million people worldwide who have this vile disease that will eventually rob them of the ability to remember and to reason. It will take from them every skill they ever learned and every relationship they ever held dear. And for most, they will watch this thief at work in their own minds.

As part of the effort to promote awareness, AAQI has set up a special page where you can create a purple sash (like the one I have here) to honor your friend or family who has striken with this disease.  If you’re a blogger, please take a minute to visit the site and make a sash to add to your blog. The goal is to have Virtual Quilt Patches popping up all over the Internet by Sunday.

World Alzheimer’s Day
September 21, 2008
So that future generations may never know this disease.

UPDATE: I received word on Saturday, September 27, 2008 that my Uncle Ed Lantry died at the age of 85. He outlived his sister (my mother) by nearly 32 years. His family had to face the long goodbye of Alzheimer’s and I feel for them.