One Thousand One Hundred and Fifty Two Days.....
Your leaving brought changes in so many ways
Inside, I'm no longer the person I was
For most all my life - This is directly because

My life was completely rearranged, totally
In caring for you, I finally found ME ----
I miss quiet times when we would reflect
On our history and the people we'd met

Things we had done - places we'd seen
Wonderful mysteries: hidden, serene
Would one day unfold before my very eyes
As I watched you leaving - There was no surprise

But only the blessing of knowing where you
Were going, and dwelling - Of course, knowing Who
Would keep you forever, safe in His loving arms
So I'd have assurance that you'd not know harm....

Yet, still, all this time has just drifted away
I've not found my bearings, since then till today
Often, in stillness, I remember your ways ----
Even now.....
One Thousand One Hundred and Fifty Two Days.......

Copyright © 2000 Dorothy Womack
Used by permission of the author.

In helping others on the Internet through e-mail, discussion
lists, and chats, Dorothy has met many who have spouses with Alzheimer's,
and she feels deeply for them, as do I. I have often said that was the
thing that hurt the most--when my mother no longer knew me, and yes, her
innocent question "Who Are You?" broke my heart into, but I think that
it must be even more so for those who have spouses with Alzheimer's.
Dorothy's book Passage into Paradise is on her
website at: http://www.geocities.com/womack47/passage.html
and now is available from iUniverse as well, along with Alzheimer's Angels,
her book of poems, and three other books (see below).
Dorothy is a writer for http://www.caregiver.com/
and her articles can also be found in the
Alzheimer's Articles section of A Year to Remember.
Email Dorothy at: womack47@charter.net
You can find all of Dorothy's books by clicking on the covers below: