It’s been a while since I’ve written about my parents. It’s been a hard year (yes…I know it’s only January) so far, what with trying to do my best for them, work in a very stressful environment and lack of sleep, and I feel like I’m starting to go crazy. Yeah…I’m doing too much but there’s no one else to do it so, I keep going. Anyway… My dad’s Parkinson’s is getting worse, as expected. That, of course, doesn’t make it easier to deal with and/or watch him struggle so hard. The feeling of helplessness is acute. Today, he had surgery on two hernias. He’s home after a grueling day. My hips/knees have been extremely painful and sitting for long periods of time aggravates the arthritis. Even so, I think what hit me the hardest today was something my mother said. Her dementia is getting to the point where, at times, she’s forgotten that I’m her daughter. Dad’s witnessed all of this and has had some concerns about her forgetting him but he never says much about it. Of course, he’s not the type of man who talks about his feelings and worries. My parents been married 54 years and the love they’ve shared is a rare love. They both, in their way, have worried about losing each other. My sister and I believe they will not survive each other long after one has gone. It’s just the way they are. Beautiful and heartbreaking. Today, mum leaned over and told me that dad asked her a question. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it, or how it made me ache for them, as long as I live. I could not help my tears as she told me what my father said: “Mary, remember I love you, okay? Always remember I love you.”