Given that tomorrow (Monday) is Martin Luther King's Birthday, and the need for courage, this seemed fitting. Where do you find courage? I find it in my kids & my Mom, my faith, in my friends, and definately in my Alzspouse family.
Love Gives Us the Courage Laurence Boldt
Love gives us the courage to believe in humanity and in ourselves. The word courage means, literally, "with heart." It takes great heart--great courage--to believe in humanity in the face of what sometimes seem like overwhelming problems.
It takes courage to affirm that the possible world that many of us have experienced in glimpses, moments of imagination or spiritual insight, is more than an idle fantasy. It takes the courage to say, like Martin Luther King, Jr., "I have a dream"--to affirm against all evidence to the contrary that one day, we shall overcome our fear, doubt, hatred, violence and pettiness.
It takes courage to commit yourself to building bridges between the world that could be and the world that is--the courage to say that you believe the world will one day be a better place and that today you are ready to do your part to make it so.
Phranque, I'm going to type that one up and keep it where I can see it. I believe I still have a lot of courage left and hope to be able to hold on to it.
Phranque, I'm at a stand still. I do not want to go back but I am having trouble moving forward. I sure don't want to be where I am, crying over every little thing. I guess I will have to regroup my emotions and figure out a way to move on. Seems I was better at figuring out what he needed than what I need.
Courage. Phrangue, I love your comment and plan to frame it somehow. Having courage also applies to our spouses who are fighting this awful disease. Tonight my DH seemed in a very pensive mood. He kept watching me and I finally asked him why. He replied "Do you ever think about me not remembering your name or face?" I think my DH has more courage than I ever thought about having. HE is the one who HAS this disease and he is facing it head on. His memory is shot, I won't let him drive anymore, I have to finish his sentences because the words aren't there anymore but he still thanks me every night for what I have done for him this day. He is 60 years old. I have no idea what "stage" he is in because the doctors can't identify what type of dementia he has. I have no idea what goes thru his mind as he sits and stares. BUT I know he has courage. He is taking the steps that he doesn't want to take. Right now he is aware, but the time when he isn't aware of his courage is nearing.
Shelia, your hubby sounds a lot like mine but he has yet to ask that question. Just today, this afternoon, I mentioned I was getting ready for Sat Mass..I didn't even get out of the room before he asked me again...Since his hospital stay in Dec for a week, I do notice some changes, mainly his retention and eating..before that he would make his own breakfast. Since he came home, he will say " don't worry about me, I'll get something in a bit" but he doesn't..and his eating is changing again too. But he never forgets to tell me I L U and thank you and I don't know what I'd do without you..that precious part of him is still strong.
I just had a friend today tell me that "What doesn't kill us makes us stronge" I told her that" as long as she sees me standing I must be getting stronger." I have always seen this person as a very strong woman but she told me that "she couldn't do what I am doing" I think she could if she had to. IT TAKES COURAGE.
Yes Deb, it does take courage. I have always been a pretty strong person but had no idea how strong until the past few years. My brother and sister both tell me often how strong I am. It's amazing what a person can do when they have to, isn't it?
Sheila, you're so lucky your husband worries about you and how you feel. Mine doesn't believe he has anything wrong, therefore he sees me as having the same life we've always had. I just had a crying jag because I'm set for surgery next month and all the worry about him and me and everything that has to be done before then has me very, very anxious and upset. Every word I say, every action I take, I have to be careful of, because he might get upset. I get so tired of it sometimes. Most times I'm very willing to do what needs to be done and watch my actions as far as he's concerned, but today, because of the worry about surgery, etc., it just got to me. Last night, because I didn't come to change the DVD movie when he called me and banged on the floor to get my attention, he got angry. I did get there, when I was able, and did what he wanted, but I resented being called like that. He is still angry and won't come out of his room. Oh well. I have alone time and can get some paperwork done, a look on the bright side I guess.
Bev, I am so sorry that things are like this because of your surgery and I can totally understand how things are more anxious and upsetting because I had to deal with surgery too and had a husband that didn't appear to care. For all he cared I was just going to the store to get some food. I know thati it is the dementia and he would never act like that if he wasn't sick but it still makes it much harder to deal with. I hope that things go well with your surgery.
Happy Martin Luther King day. I get to watch basketball all day on a what is a normal monday up here. Honorable mention to Bobby Kennedy too. They both paid a heavy price for supporting civil rights for all Americans. And kudos to America for coming down the road of inclusion. Just as with anything in life, we can look at how far there is to go but we should also look at how far we have come.
Eventually we won't have to hide that Roosevelt was in a wheelchair or that difference doesn't matter. I have a dream, he said, where all men and women are judged by the content of their character and not the outward form. Amen.
I know that my partner needs me and I need to be strong and therefore I will be strong. But I too find I lean on her strength. This morning she was reassuring me after she fell (thankfully no damage) but she kept saying how sorry she was to scare me like that, and was I feeling better now, and not to worry, she just lost her balance and everything is okay. I needed that love and reassurance, because I fear (know) that someday a fall will incapacitate her.
She fiercely and independently and courageously worked for 40 years as a nurse after having a stroke at age 26. So two models for me: my beloved partner and Martin Luther King.
Wolf.......After reading Your post yesterday about Martin Luther King day, I found the "Ï Have A Dream" speech and read every word of it and was inclined to write this little story. _________________________________________________________________
Today is Martin Luther King day and I have just finished reading his "I Have a Dream" speech which leaves me almost in tears and yet when I consider how far we have come from that memorable day, I am truly grateful for the humanitarian progress we have made. I wish that Martin Luther could be with us today to witness the great changes his dream has helped bring about. After thinking about it for awhile, I've come to realize that Martin Luther's dream was about equality for people of color in America, and I decided to dream a dream of my own. My dream is, "Equality for all the people of the world", That means treating people in far away, war torn countries as our brothers and sisters instead of dropping bombs on them because our politicians tell us that they are our enemies.
We open our minds and touch infinity when we understand there are opinions on what anything means or who's scriptures are the one true word but there is no denying the creator's universe limits fusion to iron, and uses greater forces than occured around this solar system to make the copper in your blood.
Some of the elements in you have travelled many light years created in some other part of this galaxy to sit on this rock at this time and contemplate the meaning of equality.
The universe is learning about itself under our very noses, and the only mistake we make is we think it's about us. But we do not own the place, we just rent the room. What we own is our time.
Slavery is taking thousands of years to be seen as wrong which a read through Leviticus shows. Yet, it is elements from other, earlier sun systems that are taking part in the arguments here now. That includes us. Africans are an example of slavery, slavery is not an example of Africans. It's a scourge brought by war brought by testosterone where one species breaks out and dominates all others for a time. Then testosterone is no longer the life saver of the hunted in the forest - it is the clarion call to war on itself! (personally I would rachet back the testosterone in species that become dominant but that's just me)
Look up Chandrasekhar's limit to learn why some stars explode and look up when gas giants fire up into suns and how close Jupiter came to making us a two sun system.
Courage. It is what caregivers demonstrate. As CO2 said above.
I find my strength in the Lord, couldnt manage without him. Also in myself. Ive been through hard times, and ive made it. You can do a lot more than you think!