Love and Memory

I watched "The Notebook" the other day with Bec. Not a bad story, it's got a few funny parts and the overall film was very endearing.

*spoiler alert, for those that haven't seen in*
One part that did strike me was the tension between Noah and his kids when they come to visit Ali, who does not remember them at all. The kids were telling Noah "come home, we miss you" to which Noah replied "this (the nursing village) is my home now."

I had always wondered why Grandpa was move into the nursing village with Grandma even though he was in fairly good health at the time. Grandma, similar to Ali, was at the mid-late stages of Alzheimer's and was in need of constant care. Perhaps in his mind he could help her remember those things that she had forgotten, to "bring her back" to a world where she knew who Grandpa was.

It must be devastating to know that your wife of 50ish years cannot remember you. And to have those moments when all the memories and lucidity comes back to them (I don't know if this is true or not) and for it to leave again was be immensely painful for him.

I think I respect Grandpa a lot more as a husband now, and that his love and devotion to his wife was something wonderful.