More from The Life of the Alzheimer’s Caregiver

Her normal has changed. It has been upended.

Still, she won’t quit. She arises each day to a new challenge and leans into it once again whether she feels like it or not. In other words, she is resilient.

His world has changed as well. Underneath the exterior of his confident personality, there are doubts. He constantly grapples with remembering, typically unaware that he has already asked the same question five times. While he does not always cognitively grasp the situation in the room, he can feel it. And it baffles him, and sometimes embarrasses him. They have lived in this new apartment for two years now, and he still asks which room is his every night. But, he keeps going as well.

Some days she has more patience, more energy, more joy and peace. Other days, she trudges through, bedraggled, exasperated, and just worn out. And yet, she knows that she is doing the right thing, even though it is one of the most difficult things she has ever done in her life.

She is beautiful, determined, and courageous. She is the embodiment of love.

Resilient. That’s what she is.

Worth Repeating

A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships.

-Helen Keller