My fb friend mary missy taylor issued an invitation. Here’s what she said:
“We live in turbulent troubled times. And it’s easy to be swept up in all that is dysfunctional, uncertain, and frightening. I propose to write a list of twenty things I love and challenge friends to do the same. Your format can be a numbered list, or something more creative such as a poem. For those who wish to participate, please encourage a friend or two you know to do the same. Let’s spread LOVE today.”
Here’s my list:
1 ) my sky tonight (pictured above), and all the others before and after it
2 ) the generosity of a “stranger” i met for five minutes a decade ago who believes that when we invest in girls and women, we invest in changing the world for the better. This stranger has since regularly gifted me with inspiration, hope, faith, love, courage, determination and passion for no reason other than we are all connected and somehow instruments of the universe
3 ) stepping outside and hearing the sound of chickadee wings as they fly to and from the feeder by the window
4 ) a little grey cat who still has the energy to chase a string in a circles and the strength to hop up onto my bed at night where she curls up on the quilt with her motor running
5 ) a defiant #blacklivesmatter poet with turquoise lips that matched her multicoloured coat
6 ) tears that never seem to stop, ever
7 ) wood burning in the fireplace I’ve been lucky enough to sit in front of on winter nights for the past five years, and which makes me think of Joan of Arc every time.
8 ) the heart beat and hard beat of driving rain against my bedroom window panes this morning before dawn
9 ) pulling brown-eyed susans out of the front garden with my frien naisi just after the rain stopped, knowing she will transplant them in her garden and remember me ever autumn when they bloom
10 ) baked salmon with mustard glaze and broccoli with lemon and butter accompanied by bourgoigne aligoté
11 ) jacqueline novogratz and her work
12 ) 70% dark chocolate
13 ) dried hydrangeas in several different-sized baskets thanks to the angel who used to cut mom’s hair
14 ) the joy of writing rhyming poetry that pops into my consciousness and then drops onto a page or a keyboard like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle
15 ) leah bisiani’s take on being a care partner: “Together, the care partner, the person requiring care and those who care for them, should join as one so that life continues as they all desire and deserve. The gift of life isn’t singular nor one way, because we all have the opportunity and the privilege that comes with caring for each other in a way that enhances the experience. Love does conquer all and living with dementia can never diminish true love. No condition ever does. Just so poignant and touching.”
16 ) the ripple effect
17 ) amazing women who stand on stages everywhere and tell their worldwide stories of tragedy and triumph, tears and fears and thus create cracks and fissures that let the light in and cause healing to begin
18 ) the tick tock tick tock of my mother’s antique clocks marking time, still.
19 ) lists, especially ones like this one, this one, and this one that help care partners transform their experiences
20 ) mary missy taylor’s take on what not to say to someone who is grieving
Every time I post an “ugly” picture, I feel sad and torn. Sometimes I feel like I’m going to be sick. It’s hard every single time because it’s true, Mom probably wouldn’t want to be remembered like that. And I don’t want to remember seeing her that way, the way she is in the ugly pictures and videos. I don’t want to remember not being able to do anything to make it better. To bear witness to what happened to her every day was excruciatingly painful. Each time I post a picture or a video or a conversation, I feel that pain. Lots of times I weep.
Scott Taylor is the founder and creative director of 
My Alzheimer's Story 