Kathleen

My grandma was a joy to be around, she was always there when I needed her. I remember playing in her backyard and picking flowers from her garden and giving it her. One thing about her was that she never got rid of things, I recently went through her jewelry box and found all those dry up flowers, years later.

Her dementia wasn't bad when I was younger, those were the memories I have of who my grandma truly was. I didn't think much of it growing up, walking in her hallway to the kitchen to get a drink which was only a few feet away, her stopping and asking me what we were doing after she herself said it moments ago.

It started to get worse from there on but she never got upset or angry when she forgot something, she would just laugh and ask again. Time didn't stop and as I got older she got worse, I didn't want to go out in public with her because I was embarrassed by the things she would say or say, it wasn't anything bad but if it was she couldn't understand why. I still hate myself for not being with her as much as I could because time doesn't stop for anyone….

I was 14 when it happened, it was a Wednesday, I had just gotten home from school and my grandpa called my dad, telling him that my grandma had accidentally locked herself in the bathroom and forget how to unlock it. My dad went while I stayed home and it was for the best. She had destroyed the bathroom, her hummingbird picture were on the floor, towels were scattered everywhere. They went to the hospital to get her check out and because she wouldn't calm down.

That was the day that they decided to put her in a nursing home. My grandpa, as much as he disagreed, could not take care of her 24/7 anymore. He'd visited her every day with a bouquet of flowers. She passed closed to Christmas, the holiday hasn't brought me the same joy anymore because of this. I'd like to remember her for who she was before.