life by candlelight

So, I watched the "Notebook" last night and I cried for about a half hour afterwards. The story about the young couple was just your standard Hollywood fare. But the story framing the movie really got to me.

*spoiler alert*

The gist of the movie is that this elderly gentleman goes every day to a nursing home to visit his wife who is suffering from Alzheimer's. He read to her from a notebook that tells the story of their love in order to try and bring her back. He reads to her every day and the whole thing is just so touching. In the end, she has a moment of lucidity and asks him what will happen when she can't remember anything. He promises that he will always stay with her. And then she asks him if their love is strong enough to let them die together. He lays down in the hospital bed with her and the next morning, they are both found dead holding each other's hands. It was just so beautiful in a way.

I lost my grandfather, my beloved PawPaw, to Alzheimer's and it is a very cruel disease. It robs you of yourself. But the strange thing is, it also brings you to the very core of your being. The day my grandfather didn't recognize me was awful. But, he still looked at me and saw a young woman who was sad and tried to comfort me. Because that's the kind of person he was deep down. It is an awful thing to watch someone you care about go through Alzheimer's and this movie reminded me of that process. I hope so much that sometime soon we can find a cure.