For want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost; being overtaken and slain by the enemy, all for want of care about a horse-shoe nail. Benjamin Franklin How much are the paths of our lives shaped by the lottery of our birth? Whilst we may feel comfort in attributing success to our own actions & decisions, the truth is often that we’ve risen by standing upon the shoulders of giants. My Mum was a giant. All that I am was set upon the foundations that she lovingly laid. Mum didn’t just teach me to read & write, she taught me to love books & learning. Mum taught me independence, self sufficiency & discipline. Mum was my golden ticket. Alzheimer’s can rob our loved ones of their lives and memories but it cannot rob us of our memories of them or their impact on our lives. I have so many memories of my mum. The little things like reading the Hobbit together, a trip to the shop, picking up fish & chips on a Friday. Seeming insignificant and yet now filled with poignancy. I cherish them. When we’re children we don’t realise that our parents are still young. Still growing, still developing. We think they’re adults who know everything, have it all worked out. Only when we grow & have children on of our own does the curtain lift and we see their sacrifice & and hard work laid bare. I wish I could tell my mum thank you. I wish I could tell her how sorry I am for making it harder than it needed to be & how grateful I am that she never quit. But of course we can’t change our beginnings, only our endings; how we apply our learned experiences to improve our lives & the lives of those around us. Mum showed me how to do this, her last lesson for me. The sadness I, we, feel at Mums passing, for our own loss is tempered by our relief for her release from Alzheimer’s cruel grasp. She is free. If there exists a place after this then I know my Mum will be there with her parents & her brother & sister, Alan & Anne, and of course her beloved dog Sheppa. Such a place would be full of love. As full of love as the Mum I remember was full of life. Goodbye Mum & Godspeed. You were more than I deserved & all I could have ever asked for. With love, your son, James.