(This is one of those non-WC posts our disclaimer warns you about)
Today is a bittersweet milestone; in that a man and a woman could celebrate a rare event, 65 years of loving, prosperous and successful marriage. However, today there will be no celebration, no family gathering to mark the achievement. Their house, perched atop a desert mesa in Farmington, NM, will be largely quiet.
The husband, a 91 year old man who still runs two businesses, was until recently the primary caregiver for his 86 year old wife, who is afflicted with Alzheimers. A few months ago a fall and a broken hip put her in a nursing home, where she will live out her final days. Today he toils between work and visitations, adjusting to his new life alone. For this most significant of anniversaries, he will spend time with a woman who, as his lifelong mate, may no longer know his name, and will have no comprehension of the significance of the date. But they made it to this point, and that should not go without proper observation and notation.
I write this today to wish my mother and father the best on this, their 65th anniversary. Alzheimer's, a hideous disease that not just destroys one's mind, but steals one's dignity, may have separated them on a conscious level, but the love and devotion they have shown one another for well over half a century shines through. We wish the situation could be different, but this is the life we've been dealt. They have lived it with pride and unparalleled commitment, and they make me very proud to be their son.