There are many challenges that present themselves in life. One of mine is going to visit my mother at the nursing home where she now lives.

My mother, Hilda Stern, is a resident at the Simkin Centre in Winnipeg. She is lost to her family, as she suffers from Lewy body dementia (a form of Alzheimer’s disease). During my frequent visits, I sit beside her and tell her things that she will not remember a second later. I look at her and try not to see the woman who is sitting in the wheelchair in front of me. Instead, I try to think of the woman that I remember as my vibrant, healthy mother.

My mother taught me many lessons when I was growing up. At the time, I didn’t realize the importance of the messages she imparted. I naively thought that my mother would live forever and always be the same as she was when I was a child, but, of course, this cannot be. Recently, I have been reflecting upon what I learned from her when I was young.

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