The Uninvited Guest

Every day when I wake up, I thank my God for allowing me to have one more day. It seems that we get in ruts and routines in our lives. Get up, go to work, come home, go to bed. In between, we have a few happy surprises, some shocks, some sadness, but the day goes on with or without us. I try to look for small ways to show someone I care, to put a smile on someone’s face, to be understanding, have compassion, and to be a good listener. When you are on my side of the fence, the days can tend to run one into another, and I don’t always see the small blessings I am given. For this Lord, I am sorry. When we have smooth days, these are the best of the best. Friendly smiles, lots of chatter, no new aches or pains do I hear from his mouth. I cherish these moments. For him, I wish they would happen every single day until no breathing can be heard from him. My heart aches on his bad days. I watch his tremors uncontrollably shake until I see his body grow weary and tired. There are days in a row, where I see no joy, only sadness in his eyes with flowing tears for no reason. It is very difficult to write this story, as my heart is aching. This person I am talking about is my very own brother. You see this terrible thing came into his body and grabbed hard and didn’t let go. It’s name is Parkinson’s. Along with his Parkinson’s, is his incapability of comprehension. A mental disorder. He cries because he doesn’t understand why he has tremors. He gets angry that he forgets because of the dementia, that came uninvited when the Parkinson’s stepped in. How does a sister deal with this emotional roller coaster? It is very hard. I try to give him breaks from me by finding outings that he can go to and I try to give myself a break also. Today, God gave me a huge blessing. My family and I spent the day together. It brought joy and plenty of smiles to all. We are both tired now at the end of this glorious day, but as we looked at each other for the last time tonight, before climbing into bed, we both said good nite sis, good nite brother. We parted each with smiles on our faces and a fresh look on tomorrow. Thank you Lord for blessing me, and healing our souls for today.