Seasons Change. People Change

Ecclesiastes 3 International Standard Version (ISV)

The Purposes in God’s Timing

3 There is a season for everything,
and a time for every event under heaven:[a]
2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
    a time to plant, and a time to uproot what was planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
    a time to tear down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
    a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to scatter stones, and a time to gather stones;
    a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to search, and a time to give up searching;[b]
    a time to keep, and a time to discard;
7 a time to tear, and a time to mend;
    a time to be silent, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
    a time for war, and a time for peace.

How have you remembered your loved one with dementia?

I do not believe that God intends our loved ones with dementia or their family members and caregivers to feel as though they are alone on this journey.

Please join our page to follow a few stories as the book "Look through my eyes. What do you see?" is written as a remembrance of my loved one at https://www.facebook.com/GrandmaRubyKirby/.

When my cousin agreed to create the book cover's artwork, I was delighted that Hallie shared her talent. She is a junior in high school. It warms my heart to not only share Hallie's artwork but here are her unedited words about her creation.

"Cousin Julia asked me to do artwork for the front cover of a book she was working on about my Great-grandma Kirby who had dementia. I know now that dementia is a dreaded and difficult disease, but as a child I really didn’t realize that anything was wrong with my grandma. She was perfect to me. I knew her as a happy, joyful, fun grandma. Her eyes would light up when she saw family and she would clap her hands to show her joy. She loved to cuddle with us in a big chair…sometimes holding all four great- grandchildren at one time. Living in the same neighborhood meant we were able to visit grandma often and she was still very agile in her 80’s and would walk to our house to visit also. I enjoyed her love of the outdoors. She enjoyed flowers, even the dandelions we would pick and take to her. She would grab an old canning jar, fill it with water, and treat them like the best gift ever. In her later years, Great-grandma Kirby, after enjoying a family dinner, could be found in a comfy chair taking a little nap among the chaos of dishes being washed and the great-grandchildren running about. For the book cover, I drew a comfy chair and illustrated her love of outdoors with the butterflies, clouds, and flowers. As great-grandma suffered from dementia and had gaps in her memory, I used numerous forms of doodling to fill in the gaps in the artwork. She is in the center of the cover as great-grandma loved being the center of attention and always wanted her picture taken. She is smiling as she was always smiling and oh those teeth. Yes, they were false and she was more than happy to show us all her trick of taking them out! Just as they use color and tonal contrasts to emphasize important features for dementia patients, I incorporated many colors in my artwork. Green is a restful color and associated with life; yellow is a happy color; blue is a calming color; pink eases aggression and represents tenderness and love, Alzheimer’s disease awareness is represented by the color purple and was a favorite of Great-grandma Kirby.

I thank you Julia for creating this book in memory of a very special lady who was so loved by our entire family. It is an honor to have my artwork included in this project."

Be Flexible

Brief Answers to the Big Questions," such as "Does God Exist?"

Stephen Hawking's final book ends with some inspiring words: "So remember to look up at the stars and not at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don't just give up. Unleash your imagination. Shape the future."

The Idea Man - Paul Allen

You can think big and that's only a dream. You can talk about it over and over but talk is cheap. Taking action makes an idea a reality. My statement epitomizes how I viewed Paul Allen. Mr. Allen was known for Microsoft, the Seattle Seahawks, and the Portland Trailblazers. There is Vulcan, Allen Institute, Cinerama, MoPOP, Flying Heritage and Combat Armory Museum and one of my favorite Seattle museums: Living Computers: Museums and Labs. His philanthropy cannot be forgotten. After I heard of Mr. Allen's passing, I reflected on how Seattle has changed since I moved here 19 years ago. I thank you, Mr. Allen, and I am humbled by your ideas and actions taken for the betterment of a community and the world.

My Person of the Week - Touched by an Angel

I have not posted a person of the week in a while. On my way home from visiting friends, I stopped at the Value Village (thrift store). I dropped off donations at the outside drive through. I then parked the car and walked into the store to look at my favorite book section.

A woman named Valerie leaned on her cart as I perused at the books around her. She was bent over from scoliosis and looked at me with the kindest eyes and sweetest smile.

Valerie shared with buying used children's books. She goes through each book, making sure the all of the pages are available for a child to tell the story. Valerie donates the books to an elementary schools so children can own one. I picked out three "I Spy" books with her. She selected a few Dr. Seuss books.

Valerie said that her husband of of more than 50 years had passed and how much she missed him. I then asked her about the angel she wore on her blouse collar. Valerie collected three angels throughout the years. She place one angel on her husband when he was buried with it. She wears it everyday so they are with each other. The third angel is on her winter coat lapel.

I walked with her through the dark parking lot. She turned and said. "I can't wait to tell my friends about the woman I met at the Value Village."

I smiled and nodded. I explained that she was my person of the week, and I had been 'touched by an angel.'

Look Through My Eyes (And What Do You See?)

My Aunt Judy said last week, "It will be 6 years on the 19th of August since my mom’s passing. I think of her everyday. What a blessing she was to me. She always loved the clouds in the sky."

Look Through My Eyes (And What Do You See?)

I instant messaged my cousin Amy to ask if her daughter, Hallie would create the artwork for the book "Look Through My Eyes'" cover from her experience of Great Grandma Ruby living with dementia. Or what she thought Great Grandma had experienced and could not share with us.

Hallie, who is in high school, designed the cover. I am unsure of the representation or meaning of each of the items, nor the use of colors Hallie compiled. I can only imagine my Grandma seeing the images and colors in her mind.

Thank you, Grandma for touching our lives!