A family story

Isn't that a beautiful picture of my daughters and my parents? It was taken 2 Easters ago. Why they are all crammed on that little velvet love seat, I'll never know. But, here is the point.

My Dad has Alzheimer's. Not only is it really, really sad...it just totally sucks. My kids don't know the intelligent man who helped raise me. (I say "helped" raise me, because, let's face it...I raised myself.) Over the past few months his decline has gained incredible momentum. I find that he can't even complete a sentence anymore. Well, he can...but it is always something like, "Your mom is in the trees," or "I was going in the bag." (Actually, now that I think about it, the second sentence does make sense. He has a colostomy and so if he is "going" so to speak, he is doing it in a bag!)

Anyway...I do the Alzheimer's walk every year in Chicago. It is to raise money for the Alzheimer's association. But, you all know me well enough to know that I don't do it for completely altruistic reasons. I do it for the t-shirt.

No, I do it because I am surrounded by people who all have loved ones who are dying of this terrible disease. They have t-shirts with pictures of their loved ones emblazoned on their chests. They gather in groups to talk about their mom, dad, gramma, aunt.... Everywhere you look someone is looking at your shirt to see if you are walking "In Honor of" someone or (sadly) "In Memory of". We are all the same in our longing to do something to help because we can't fix our loved one. Honestly, the whole experience gives me a whole new appreciation of AA. It must be comforting for a drunk to be surrounded by others who are struggling too. Plus, afterward you've got a whole group of people who really, really want to go out for a cocktail.

Here is the link to my donation page:

http://chicagomemorywalk.kintera.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=224903&u=224903-47598405&e=1224718198

Feel free to visit and just read the story I wrote. Even better; pony up some cash and support me. Better yet, pray for me and my family. (But pony up some cash too.) Last year I surpassed my lofty goal...and the best part was, no less than three of my ex-boyfriends pledged more than my husband did, which made him look like a total chump. But, he did get the girl so I guess he got the last laugh, didn't he? In any case, my husband is far from a total chump, as you can see from the picture. Last year he and the girls came on the 5K with me and he had to carry Bronte on his shoulders the whole way. Tony rocks!

I wish this picture was bigger so you could really see how freakin' great my hair looked. My shirt says "Supporting my Dad, Bob Geddis" which my oldest, dearest friend had made for me the year I did the walk the first time. Plus, look at how cute my damn kids are! We are like the All American Family, except for Tony's tie-died shirt which makes him look like a stoned Dead fan who wandered on the beach and scored a photo op with some normal people.

So, go to my Donation Page. Please.