Happy birthday mommy!

My mom's birthday is tomorrow. My mom passed away in March 2018. She had alzheimers, she was only 64 years old when she passed. She was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers disease, the first signs began when she was 57 years old.
Most people, when they hear alzheimers, they think about an old frail granny or grandpa in their 80's. My mom was not even retirement age when she passed.
I know this blog is primarily about our journey with Jacques, but it is also about special needs. In the last year or so of my moms life she had greater special needs than Jacques. We had to feed her, take her to the toilet, bathe her, we had to do everything for her.
It has been a year and a half since her passing, but there are still so many emotions that linger. The strongest emotion now is definitely love and longing. I can now start to remember her prior to diagnosis. Just after her passing I had trouble remembering her as my vibrant, loving, selfless mom - my hero - the woman who taught me everything I know about being a mom. The image of her at her last, a hollow shell of the person she once was, was stuck in my head. But as time passed I saw her in small things. The way my sister smiles when she is shy - that is my mom. The way Ruben loves sharing - that is my mom. The way Jacques loves his church - that is my mom.
My mom was the greatest person I ever met. And I say that not only because she is my mom, everyone that knew her will agree. She left such a void in our lives, but it is slowly being filled with memories of her, memories of what she taught us and we are slowly healing.
We miss you every day, every minute, mom, but we cannot thank you enough for everything you instilled in us. We can't wait to see you again, but until then, our mission is to make you proud. Happy birthday mommy!

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