Kelley Irwin

One day last week (May 2024), I took Dad and Mom to the beach.

The beach! 🏖️

It has been 18 months since we received a formal medical diagnosis of  dementia. This disease does not follow a linear path.

There are days Dad is unable to walk and unable to participate in conversations. On this day, we stopped for milkshakes and drove to the beach and sat at the picnic table like we’ve done so many times the past 50 years.

Dad smiled and laughed as he watched a toddler swim and then wiggle around standing on top of the picnic table as her mom tried to dress her.

He looked at Mom and said “We loved having little kids, didn’t we?”.

As we left, he was exhausted and unable to navigate positioning himself and lifting his foot to get back into the car. Between Mom and me, we managed to get him safely back into his seat. It wasn’t pretty, but definite worth the effort.

Once back in the car, I showed him our photo. He said “That looks just like the tree we saw at the beach.” I replied, “Yes Dad, just like it.”

You can’t predict what will happen each day. I certainly didn’t think we’d be going to the beach. Life’s simple pleasures.