As my grandma and I, hands clasped tightly together, sit at the dinner table awaiting mashed potatoes and peas, we discuss cursory topics such as the weather. I notice her despondence and reticence have replaced the once lively look in her eyes. Five years ago, conversations between my grandma and me were profound and intimate. Now, the superficiality of our conversations stems from my grandma’s inability to recall events from even the previous day as she has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Although her memory has become a hindrance, simple moments such as these, when she grabs my hand, remind me of the strong bond that we share. Upon looking at the clock on the wall, I am reminded that my grandma, too, has her own clock. As the minute hand ages so does my grandma, which is why, amidst all that I do in a day, from school to work to homework to extra curricular activities, the time spent with my grandma is most valuable. Even more so, I have learned the importance of cherishing memories and moments with people I love because it is evident to me now that I will not be able to make memories with them forever. …show more content…
While visiting her, I have to help with the most simplistic of tasks such as tying her shoelaces. In doing so I feel as though I am not simply tying shoelaces but rather tying together the relationship between my grandma and me. As I overlap the laces I hold the memories together for her as she cannot do it on her own now. I attempt to secure those aspects of our personalities that we bond over when I knot the laces, such as our love for card games, baseball games, dogs and tea parties. Her confusion with the looping of the ‘bunny ears’ reflects that of mine when I question why my grandma, out of all people, fell victim to