Belvedere
From Chicken Soup for the Soul: Navigating Eldercare & Dementia
By Margaret Toman

Love is having the courage of your tenderness.
~D. H. Lawrence

“Today, I threw the Christians to the lions, but I got away just in time,” my mother announces as I pull into the parking lot at Applebee’s. Later, I learn that she watched Ben-Hur at adult daycare, but today I don’t know that. I respond carefully, focusing on her lifelong love of grilled salmon. “I’m so glad you got away,” I say, “because I’m treating you to grilled salmon for supper. Would you like that?”

“Oh, yes,” she says. “I’ve never had it before!” As I help her out of the car, I marvel at her resilience and enduring beauty. She is ninety-six. Together, we have navigated the treacherous labyrinth of Alzheimer’s disease since her diagnosis eleven years earlier. Tonight, we are navigating the risk of an evening out. (Keep reading)