Mom

Stopped for gelato in Spoleto on our way back to Rome

​May 2019 we went to Italy to celebrate Mother's Day - my mom, my aunt, me. It was unseasonably cold and rainy for May and mom didn't understand why we couldn't just drive to my house in Florida for a warm jacket. She was already four years into Alzheimer's and living with me in Sarasota. My aunt and I decided we needed to take the trip we had talked about so often before mom was unable to travel. The blessing in her memory issues was that she was fully present in every moment while we were there. She couldn't remember the long arduous flight or the four hour drive from Rome in constant rain. She was happy that every town had gelato and she was there with my aunt, her dear friend. We laughed, ate delicious food, made the best of the rain and cold, and indulged in lots of gelato! 

Clararose, my mom, was a funny, vibrant, courageous, adventurous woman before the curse of Alzheimer's changed her into someone she would have never wanted to be. I promised her I would do everything I could to keep her home with me and not put her in a facility. I was able to keep that promise even though it was truly one of the hardest things I've ever done. I'm beyond grateful for her caregivers - Alice, Bon, Keri, and Kristin - I absolutely could not have done it without them. Eighteen months post our Italy trip she died in bed with beloved cats purring next to her. I would do it all over again. 

Mother’s Day 2019 in Vestignano