Starting Point

Over at Writing Journal, Bethany House posts writing prompts from time to time. All of them--some words, some pictures--are very good and should spark a writer's imagination. Yesterday, she decided to pull the first line from page 73 of the book closest to her. The book? The Everything Health Guide to Arthritis. The quote? "Most people don't comply with what they don't understand."

Well holy cats! The reason why my parents aren't complying? They just don't understand Alzheimer's and what it's all about. It's a plausible theory, isn't it? And we as humans tend to shy away, dare I say fear, that which we don't understand, right?

You don't have to say it. I know I'm right. The question is, how to help them get past that fear, how to help them understand so that they can comply. When I feel like delving back into their lives, I at least (sort of) know where to start.

(By the way, Bethany posts a lot of good stuff, so feel free to check her out. She didn't ask me to send you her way. She also didn't pay me to say anything nice about her. I just felt like I wanted to. And in case you wanted to know, I have never met her in person. But I think we'd get along just fine, if we ever do cross paths.)

Comments

T said…
They don't want to understand.
Christina said…
I know. But you know me, I waffle between thinking highly of them and then going back to being on the negative side. So today, I'm trying to be positive, staying on the sunny side of the street. You and your attitude will tug me back that way soon! :)
Unknown said…
I think that you are both right - I think they don't want to understand because they are scared! They have lived their life the same way all these years and now if they were to really hear what is going on, they know that their lives will completely change. xoxoxoxox
Anonymous said…
Ohmygosh, I don't know why I didn't think to apply this line to dealing with parents... it fits perfectly. And it probably gets harder with age; the longer someone goes without trying to understand the less likely it is to happen. I'm sure I give my mom the same eye roll when she starts going on about the woes in her life (the ones that don't have to be there if she'd just accept the reality of her situation) as the teens I teach do when they're trying to convince me of the greatness of Snapchat. They're not going to convince me to sign-up because I've already decided that I hate having a bazillion virtual accounts to check; so really I'm not even listening to what they have to say about it. My mom's the same way... I'll never convince her of anything because she's already decided certain things about me, so she's not really listening to what I'm trying to say.

Well, that was way too much to be thinking before I had any coffee! Thanks for the ringing endorsement, reading this was such a wonderful start to my day :) and thanks sharing your thoughts; it's really got my mind going. I'll probably spend the day pondering who my mom may actually listen to (in an optimistic, good kinda way).
Christina said…
Best discussion we've had here in a while, ladies!!

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