Miles Makes 3: Closing out summer

What a week it's been! We went from full speed with Jessica and Steve to slow-motion with Brad's parents Jack and Merlyn. We're enjoying our last night with them and it's been a week full of joy and tears. Most people probably know that Jack has Alzheimer's disease. We just didn't know how bad it was. I've been spending the afternoon doing a lot of research on it and it appears he is in the 'moderate' stage. He doesn't read, write or talk hardly at all. Merlyn says this is because he has a hard time forming sentences and it is still embarrassing to him. There was one evening we were sitting around the dinner table and he began to try to answer questions. Unfortunately, he didn't know Brad's name nor who I was. Merlyn said he couldn't even tell you how many kids he has. This was hard to watch because I saw Brad's face crumple in pain. I don't think he was ready to see that.

He didn't know where he was and kept asking where their car was. On a happier note, he's been great with Miles. He must have a natural love for kids because he gave lots of high-fives and tickles to him. Merlyn is doing a wonderful job taking care of him. She compares it to taking care of Miles without the all the running around. I can see that... Her patience with him is such a testimony to me. She never gets upset or flustered. She knows it's only going to get worse and harder yet she says she's lucky to have him. The next time I get annoyed with Miles I'm definitely going to keep this all in mind.

Here are some pics from the week.