When Memories Fade

     Flipping through pictures used to bring Grandma joy as she recalled each precious moment frozen forever in each setting.

      She used to be able to think of the funniest anecdotes about the people and places featured eliciting giggles from anyone within earshot.

      Slowly the memories began to fade to the farthest reaches of her mind until they were mere glimmers and then extinguished entirely.

       Instead of bringing joy and precious memories, the photographs began to bring a sense of loss and sadness which resulted in an immediate sense of anxiety and fear.

      The only memory she managed to miraculously retain was her lifelong relationship of love, devotion, and faith in Jesus to guide her to the unwavering beacon of light ahead where the anxiety and fear could no longer torment her.

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The Shadow of Her Smile

It is Day 20 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge and NaBloPoMo.  Today's post is my submission to the 100 words on Saturday Blog Hop and today's prompt was provided by Suzy Que from "Someday Somewhere".  I wrote this piece in memory of my Grandma who had Alzheimer's and passed away in 2006.

       Her name was Laura.  Occasionally people visited claiming to be family.  For the life of her, she couldn’t place them.  She smiled; happy they came whoever they were.  

      They brought pictures.    One picture showed a handsome man smiling back.  “I was married to him once.”  She couldn’t recall his name, but she knew they had been happy then.  

      They told her he had gone to be with Jesus and supposedly three of her children had followed him there.  Dementia had robbed her memories but sometimes a glimmer of her old self could be seen in the shadow of her smile.