I admit I’m sometimes frustrated by my mom and her stubbornness, inability to follow instructions, and newly formed (strange) habits, but I wonder if it’s just payback from my own stubborn teen years.

The sad part of this situation, and aging and dementia in general, is that I know things aren’t going to improve. It constantly feels like whatever we do, there’s no point, no grand goal, no growth as a reward.

Some days, I wish I could just leave and avoid the burden, but recently, a friend going through similar pains shed some light on the issue: “There may be only one thing in life that keeps us here, but it happens to be the most important thing.” He’s right. I think we all have to learn to accept that fact to keep us on track, and whatever that important thing may be, we just gotta take deep breaths, and be around for no other reason than to be around.

It’s not easy to face conflict directly. But I’m thinking maybe that’s where the biggest rewards in life lie, anyway.