Merry Christmas to both of you and anyone else(?) who may pop in and see this! Sorry I haven't been around much lately. Between the usual holiday busy-ness and trying to reach my word count goal for this year, I've popped in a few times to check on the board but haven't taken the time to post.
Steph, I'm sorry to hear that your mom is showing signs of dementia. Like Mare said, I do think it can be hereditary, but that doesn't mean it's a given. My great-grandmother died of Alzheimer's, but none of her three children developed it. I hope you get some answers soon. Enjoy your time off work!
Mare, I hope you're doing okay under the circumstances. The first holidays after losing a loved one are so strange and so hard. I'm sure that was weird to receive her remains in the mail like just another package. Hopefully you will be able to afford a nice urn to put her in at some point. When each of my maternal grandparents passed, my mom sent in some of their ashes to be put into glass for each of their children and grandchildren. I have a beautiful, blue glass orb/ornament for my grandpa and a pretty purple bud vase for my grandma. It's a nice memento of each of them.
It looks like you've had a lot more Kieran content lately with all of his award nominations and wins, so hopefully that will give you some joy heading into the new year. I am also dreading the next four years. I'm currently still avoiding the news for the most part, other than that I see on social media, and that may be how I get through it - by comfort-watching shows, writing, reading, and staying in my little bubble as much as I can. Probably not the healthiest coping strategy, but it sounds better than the alternative right now.
