Christmas time
I won't say Merry Christmas because for some it has been, but maybe not for all. Perhaps you know someone close to you with dementia, perhaps this is is your last Christmas with them, or your first Christmas without them. That's to say nothing of those who suffer from dementia themselves, perhaps unable to engage in the festivities. For me, it's the first Christmas without Dad. Last Christmas he spent in hospital with a bout of pneumonia. Looking back, an eerie omen of the year to come even though it was a month before his formal diagnosis. We spent time with Dad in the hospital but he was noticeably absent from the table, the tree and the general goings on. This year (and I suspect for most Christmases going forward) his absence was less tangible. Maybe its too soon. Maybe its because (at least until our holiday in May) between us all we didn’t have enough conversations that this X could be the last X with Dad. All we could do last Christmas was to hope