Dementia for 2

I have a friend who has a really strange mother. Strange isn't really the right word. Unbalanced is more like it. She always has something wrong with her that no one else has ever had or she is sending all her money to Benny Hinn, or doing something weird in the kitchen. You name it "J" has gone through it.

Just when she thinks it can't get any worse, it does. Her mom is visiting her for an undetermined amount of time. She has bought a car because it takes over 2 hours to shop for groceries with her.

She made some sort of homemade remedy for her hair and ruined her daughter's comforter by lying across it with this oil in her hair.

When I hear things like this I tend to look back at my own relationship with my grandmother. I can remember when she was "normal". "J" has never known normal. I realize that with all my grandmother's faults and like most of us they are many, I still have more fond memories of my relationship with her than not.

While I only share the funny stuff there have been some really bad days in between. They are less frequent than they were at first, but she still has them.

Thinking on my friend's relationship with her mother, I see just how much God has blessed me. I have a great relationship with both my mom and grandmother. That alone is something most women never get to experience in their lives.

While my grandmother has a debilitating disease, she isn't violent, or hateful or any of the other things I have heard people with Alzheimer's can be. She can have her days and they are tough without a doubt, but she is happy most of the time.

"J" has tried a plethora of things to try and get her mom in a more stable situation. But her mother is very adamant about things and she refuses to go to a doctor or any number of things that would help her have a more stable mind. I think this is the hardest thing for her to handle. To know that maybe there is something out there that would help her mom be healthier emotionally and she just won't take the step and go see someone.

Thinking on this today has made me see that my life is not so bad and I really don't want to trade places with anyone else. The alternative is just too scary.