The Big Move

We woke up Monday morning to a beautiful sunny day-- perfect moving weather. My sister Anne, Tom and I came up with a strategy to make the move as smooth for Nana as possible.  I arrived at 8am and brought Nana to church, while Anne and Tom went to the apartment and got ready for the movers.
  At church, one of the members asked me when Nana was moving.  I told them that she was moving today, after breakfast.  "Does she know?"   Yes, I said, we talked about it earlier in the morning, and she was looking forward to the move.
   At the end of Mass, the priest spoke.  "Today is our last day with our friend, Jane Papineau, and I have said Mass for you. We will all miss your smile and your bright spirit, and we will pray for you always." Nana was very touched, and she received many hugs as we left the chapel.  Breakfast followed, and I received a text on my phone stating "All's clear. The movers have left the apartment, and we are on our way."
   I can't express how lucky we are when it comes to moving Nana.  Since she moved so often with my father, a new home is met with excitement, not fear or sadness. "It's a chance to make new friends" was always her mantra, and this has not changed.
  "So, where am I going?"
  "  You are moving to a place that specializes in helping people with Alzheimers.  Everyone there has Alzheimers, just like you, and the people there work with Boston University's Alzheimers Research center. You live in a dorm-like setting.  You will have your own bedroom, but will share a common area and a bathroom with another resident."
  "Oh, that sounds wonderful.  I could definitely use the help to get this brain working!"
   We went to Nana's apartment, and she grabbed a stuffed animal and two decorative pillows from her second bedroom, saying that she would definitely need them in her new home. We said goodbye to the many wonderful workers at Southgate, and said goodbye to a few residents who were in the hallway.  We tried to leave as quietly as possible, since I did not want to upset residents who would be very uncomfortable with the change.
  We arrived in Hopkinton at 11:30.  Tom greeted us at the door, and Anne waited upstairs near her apartment.  As we entered the unit, residents were sitting down for lunch.  Nana sat next to her new roommate, as we removed her jacket and hung it in her room. We gave her a hug, and we headed out to pick up a few things she needed for her first week in her new home.
  We returned two hours later, and I was very anxious about how Nana was doing.  We walked onto the unit, and we could see her doing exercises with the rest of the residents.  She was smiling, and she didn't notice us in the hall.  We moved into her room, and Tom hung some of her pictures and we marked the shower supplies that we brought back with us.  We could hear singing coming from the common area, Nana's voice rising above the others during "My Wild Irish Rose".  We finished our work, and then we debated whether we should even say goodbye to her.  Anne and I wanted to say goodbye, so as we stepped out the door, we looked down the hall.  Nana was taking a catnap in her chair, and she looked very comfortable.  We decided not to interrupt her sleep.
   My heart knows that this is the right place for Nana.  As Anne said this morning, "It's the circle of life."  We know that she will be happier here, and she looks very relaxed and happy.  But I still mourn the Nana that would have been, if this awful disease had not robbed her of her memory and independence.
And I thank God for not taking away her sweetness, wit, and ability to move forward and accept her illness with grace.