  Sometimes, the most wonderful people in existence are taken away from us. One can only hope that we are strong enough to pull through it all. The mother of a friend of mine passed away yesterday morning. This friend of mine is one of the strongest, and most profound people I have ever known.
I did not know her mother that well, but I do hold some memories of her. She was a happy woman, always smiling. She told me a joke once. If I could remember the joke, I would tell it to you, but instead, all I can recall is the punch line, and the look on her face and the way she laughed when she said it. "Dead Bobbies". And that was enough. It was enough to make us all crack up. Dinner with her and my dear friend at Swiss Chalet. When all I would eat were perogies because I hate to spend other people's money. It was a wonderful day. I, too, have watched people deteriorate and die. Their minds, once strong and alert, I've watched them regress into a state of confusion and paranoia, not remember who you are, or who they are.
Spewing sentences about their horses, or asking if we've hauled enough ice off of the river to keep the ice box cold. This is usually the point when I stop going to visit, when I stop caring. It's not that I don't love them when they are in that state, it's simply that they are living in better times.
Their mind has regressed to a point when they were truly happy. I can't bear to see them in such a state of delusion, so I choose not to. Just as they remain in the past, I, too, choose to ignore the present. My friend, she was there until the very end, with an open heart. For that, I admire her. I love you, friend. 
