How Can Thankfulness Exist in the Middle of Coping with Alzheimer's?

Thanksgiving- the time of year when we pause to be intentional about gratitude. You may be overflowing with thankfulness this year and not even sure where to start when listing off the reasons you have to be thankful this year. Or not. If you're in the "or not" category, where, when you try to think of specific reasons for gratitude, you're coming up empty, this is for you. Thanksgiving doesn't have to mean that you place your rose-colored glasses on your nose and decide that all is right with the world around you, when that clearly isn't the case. It doesn't mean that you have to be thankful for your cancer or your Alzheimer's disease or the loss of a family member. So, what then? If Thanksgiving doesn't require a fake smile and an "everything is fine" facade, what do you do when life is hard and your heart is heavy? How can you celebrate Thanksgiving when that chair next to you at the table is empty, and it shouldn't be? What's gratitude-worthy about dementia, either for the person experiencing it or the family member watching it, or for any of the other hard things that may have come your way this year? The answer, in my opinion, might be, "Nothing." Yet. For now. In that situation. But, consider this: you will be doing your heart and mind a favor by seeking some reasons to be thankful, even if they are minute, even if you can come up with only one thing. Thankfulness typically begins with one small step, and that usually grows to another. According to research, gra...
Source: About Alzheimers Disease - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news