SELF IMAGE
Last night Dave's mom called us down around 10 because Dad wouldn't settle down. He wanted to go to the hospital. We got up, got dressed and hurried down to their house. They were both by the front door. Dad pulled me aside and whispered, "Who is that little old lady? I can't do anything to satisfy her." Through the next few minutes we realized:
a. He thought he was very young--just out of school
b. He wanted to go to the hospital because his wife was there.
c. He actually recognized me and Dave--and introduced us to the "little old lady."

Now we had to laugh even though it's heartbreaking and not at all funny in reality but sometimes you have to find the humor in a situation to be able to deal with it. A few minutes later he knew Mom and wondered where the "little old lady" had gone. But it made me think about self-perception. In my head I'm still 19. I'm always shocked when I see a picture or look in the mirror. In my head I'm never as old or as fat as I really am. LOL It also made me wonder what else we deceive ourselves about. Our character? Our personality? Our prowess--or lack thereof of things like cooking,etc? LOL

It's enough to make me long for heaven! This old woman will be 57 in a few weeks. The almost forty years since I've actually been 19 have passed in what seems a blink of the eye. It makes me realize all over again that inner beauty is what it's all about, and I need to be cultivating that more.

How about you? What's your self-image? Any self deception going on with you?

Labels: Alzheimers, reality, self-deception