Beginning another week

Today is my day for visiting my great Aunt. She lives in an assisted living facility here in town. I like to visit her once a week and take her out to lunch and sometimes even a drive or some other activity. She is the sister of my late grandmother. I love visiting her partly because she is so much fun to be around, but also partly because I never had the chance with my grammy. Auntie (what everyone calls her) has been a part of my life as long as I can remember. She used to visit us here in New Mexico with my grammy and we always visited her in Vermont whenever we went back east. She is 90 years old now and suffering from Alzheimer's disease. She is still in the first stages, which is pretty good considering her age. My grammy also had alzheimer's, she passed away in 2003. Auntie never married or had kids of her own, which is another reason I like to visit her. My mom and her sister are the only other people in the family who visit her on a regular basis. It makes me feel good to brighten up her day. She says my visits are like therapy to her, making her feel so much better.

So......this is the reason I rarely have time for much else on Mondays. Nothing is more important to me than these weekly visits, I may not ever have the chance to make them up if I were to put them off. Enjoy your elderly family members while you can, you may not get another chance! Auntie is the last of her generation and I'm so happy that I've had the chance to get to know her better!