Hopeful
Mom was in the middle stages of Alzheimer's disease. She didn't talk much at this time. My brother, Mike, would visit her every other weekend. He was always good about taking her on drives or to church or even to a bakery for a goodie. Sometimes going out was just not possible. One afternoon my brother was watching TV with her. I think they were watching HGTV and he said to her, "Can you think of a word that begins with the letter H?" He figured if he got an answer, that would be exciting, and he also figured if she actually answered with an H - it would be "Hi" or "Hello." But what he got from our mom that afternoon was astounding. She did respond and her word was "Hopeful." She was always an optimistic person and a person of faith. That day will forever be ingrained in my brother's memory and to me it is so wonderful because even though we thought we had lost her to the disease, there was a little bit of our sweet mother inside and she was still hopeful.
GALLERY OF ITEMS MADE IN THIS PATTERN
Mom with Mike on a beautiful day in San Francisco. By the looks of things in this picture she probably said or did something fun because she has a little smirk and Mike is just cracking up. This is one of my favorite pictures of all time!