We have a blog this week written by one of our Co-founders and Co-chair Jan Pitts, on how she feels this year this Christmas season.
We had decided for December this would be our theme for all blogs, expressing the varying feelings and emotions.
Christmas is not easy for everyone, and it can be particularly distressing for people with dementia and their families. It is great to be able to start by sharing a positive one.
Thank you Jan for sharing your thoughts, for your thanks to all Dementia Alliance International (DAI) members, and for your wisdom.
"Is this Christmas ho! ho! ho! or bah humbug?
I am very happy to announce that so far I have found it to be a resounding ho! ho! ho! It is actually the first year since my mother passed away on December 23, 1999 that I have felt this way.
So why the big change all of a sudden? I think there are several reasons I am feeling so good. The first would be my recent engagement and approaching marriage to my partner of 22 years, the fact that it is now legal in the State I live in, which means many of my friends and family will be able to share the special day with me!
I also seem to have come to terms with the bigger picture of life and death. After spending nine years in an apathetic state, I realize this was one thing that was causing me to stay there. Do I live to mourn those I have loved and lost, or do I live for those I love and still have. I came to the conclusion that I don't have to choose, everything in it's proper place and time. I also concluded that I do not need to become overwhelmed by my own mortality, what a relief!
Very important and dear to my heart is what DAI has done to change me. It is so much bigger than me, but with each success I feel it encompass me in a warm embrace. As it grows I grow along with it. The organizations success is my success. All leading up to the point that meaning and purpose has been restored to my life within this last year.
My sincere thanks to each and every member of DAI. I will never be able to repay you and I am humbled by what you have given to me.
Merry Christmas and holiday wishes.
Jan Pitts
Copyright Janet Pitts and Dementia Alliance International