The REAL Value of Time
I don’t remember who wrote this but I found it in my email that I’ve saved for years. It was part of an email that I received in July 2003. I know, long time ago, huh? Anyway, I use to get a lot of email from my dad before he got sick. If I had only known just how profound receiving this would be… my dad was so good about emailing me. He would send several each morning and then again, that same night. I use to receive 8 or 10 emails a day from him. Some was serious and some was silly, most I am finding to be interesting in that he didn’t know what was about to happen to him and we didn’t know that he would be sick. He wasn’t diagnosed until 2011, ironically in July.
I’d like to add one more to this list…
To realize the value of five years… Ask the daughter of a man that use to send dozens of emails each week to her until he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease and forgot she was his daughter…
or perhaps…
To realize the value of five years… when you realize the depth of your parents relationship after your dad is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease and your mom becomes his caregiver, his watchdog when he wanders aimlessly at night or tries to wander, his memory lifeline when his memories begin to fade, and his legal voice when he no longer remembers his name.
November is the month of Alzheimer’s Disease… it’s a month to remember those affected by it… and the caregivers and family of those affected… it’s color is purple. Purple is now my color, my family’s color, my dad’s color… it helps me to remember what it was like before he forgot. The strongest woman I know is my mom, my dad’s caregiver. She gets by with the help of assorted CNA’s, nurses, and other healthcare and hospice workers. My brother. My sisters. Me. We all have become caregivers in a way. If you’ve never had anyone affected by this terrible disease, I could fill your head with the horrors and the extreme sadnesses associated with this thing for which they haven’t figured out a cure. It’s a hard thing. My dad is weak and my mom is sad. Who knows how much time he has left. For my mom’s sake, she misses him and needs him in her life. For his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, they miss him and need him. For me? I miss him… and I miss his emails. It had become “Our Thing”. They were a part of each of my mornings and every evening. It was my social media before I had social media. It made me laugh and made him laugh whenever we got together or talked on the phone. Not only did we email excessively but we also discussed each email when we actually talked.
So anyway… this is one of those emails. I got it in July 2003… before he got sick… before Alzheimer’s… before the diagnosis… before my dad forgot me…
The REAL Value of Time ~ Something to definitely think about…
To realize the value of ten years:
Ask a newly divorced couple.
To realize the value of four years:
Ask a graduate.
To realize the value of one year:
Ask a student who has failed a final exam.
To realize the value of nine months:
Ask a mother who gave birth to a still born.
To realize the value of one month:
Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of one hour:
Ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realize the value of one minute:
Ask a person who has missed the train, bus or plane.
To realize the value of one second:
Ask a person who has survived an accident.
To realize the value of one millisecond:
Ask the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics.
Time waits for no one. Treasure every moment you have. You will treasure time even more when you realize the value of each and every minute and moment, especially when those moments are gone and become memories…
