I woke up to this.. beautiful and horribly sad movie on television. I didn’t catch the name of it, but it was about an older couple. The husband moved into a nursing home to be with his wife, even though she had a condition that meant that she didn’t remember him or their children. Every day, he would tell her a story about a young couple as they fell in love around world war II. And then, he finished the story, leaving it off at a cliffhanger and he looked at her and said, “What happens next?” and she remembered everything. For five minutes, he had his wife back.
When she was gone again, he’d start telling her the story over from the beginning. He lived his life for having those few minutes with her. It reminds me of my great-aunt and great-uncle. She has alzheimer’s disease. The last time I saw her she didn’t know who I was, but my great-uncle just smiled and held her hand and told her my name. Alzheimer’s disease is kind of scary to me. My great-aunt is perfectly aware of her surroundings, it’s not as if she’s a doddering old biddy, quite the contrary. She’s as sharp as ever, but she can’t remember things. I don’t know that I’d want to live like that, but if I do, I hope that my husband has the patience to hold my hand and smile and tell me people’s names.
Gah.. I hate chick flicks. They require too much kleenex and chocolate for a person who’s trying to get past allergies and drop 15 pounds. *sigh*
