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For Better OR Worse: Love In the Trenches - Page 2

© Claudia McCreary

Her mind kept telling her she could leave if it was too much. But Mavis knew that she didn’t really want that. She loved Alice and that it was for better or worse. She couldn’t just take off because she was faced with the “worse” part.

She found herself working for a large catholic church. The wages weren’t really great, but the people more than made up for it. She loved being a part of something meaningful. And it got her out of the house which was something else she desperately needed. It helped to calm her spirit and give her a new lease on life.

Alice really tried to do everything she could to help out. But it was hard for Mavis to see it. She was so wrapped up in her own needs that weren’t being met. She realized she was in need of counseling.

She found an inexpensive way to get some help with all the feeling surging around in her head. She realized she loved Alice and while some aspects of living alone seemed appealing, the reality was that she would be miserable without Alice by her side.

She found a lot of support at the disabled caregivers Usenet group at news:alt.support.disabled.caregivers. She also used Eldercare at http://www.ec-online.net, and http://www.alzwell.com. Other helpful sites were http://www.caregiver.org/ and http://www.caregiver.com/ .

As Alice improved, her need to be working kicked in so she tried to help out as much as she could. She promised to get a job as soon as she could. It wouldn’t happen quickly, but it would happen.

They tried to find cheap things to do together once a week. Their weekly dates were like old times as they explored bookstores and sat for hours reading books they couldn’t afford! They scoured the area for cheap restaurants they could visit and learned to laugh with one another again.

Mavis was very hard on Alice and Alice took so much and kept her mouth shut. Mavis slowly began to change as her resentment lifted and her old love for Alice blossomed anew. There troubles weren’t over, but they knew they could make it together, if they just hung on.

Looking back they realize that everything that happened was really a gift. Had they split up they would not have experienced the miracle of growing to really love one another. It is easy to love when everything is great, but when love transcends your circumstances; you learn a newer deeper way to love one another.

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