Enduring

They met when they were in college working part-time as waitresses in a downtown restaurant. My mom and her friend got an apartment together. It was the late 1960s. Little did they know, they were forging a friendship that would endure the test of time and distance.

Dressed in their waitress uniforms, my mother (right) and her dear friend (left) pause with a coworker for a photo outside the restaurant they worked at in downtown Carthage, Mo. in the late 1960s.

Before marriage, children, divorce and long before Alzheimer's disease, my mother was once a young single girl. Just as it's difficult to envision her disease progressing farther, it is also difficult to imagine my mom as a young single college girl. Her dear friend assures me that this indeed was once the case. In 45 years, they have shared joy, adventure, heartache, death of parents, births of children and grandchildren and difficult health diagnoses.

Inside their apartment in Carthage, Mo., my mom (right) and her roommate and best friend (left) pose for a photograph in the late 1960s.

It was my mom's dear friend who opened our eyes to the start of this disease. She invited my brother and I to her home in 2008 for what was likely one of the most difficult dinner parties she has ever hosted. She shared with us that she was concerned for mom, that she saw things changing in her and that she was slipping away from the woman she once was. She shared some family history of dementia that we were not aware of before and encouraged us to seek help for mom. This began the journey to that infamous moment in the neurologist's office when we heard the diagnosis five years later.

Her friend has now moved to another state and is no longer able to travel due to her own health issues. We considered taking my mom to visit her; but after much contemplation and prayer, we saw that it would be very difficult to travel with her by airplane. Her friend calls once a week and patiently listens as mom shares the same stories over and over. Mom clearly remembers her, and as her life and circle of friends has grown smaller and smaller, this friend of hers is very dear to all of us.

It was fall 2013. We were still carefully weighing the possibility of taking mom on a flight to visit her friend. It was starting to become clear that this trip was unlikely to happen. Our hearts were heavy. At that point, it had been two years since they had last seen each other. And then the revelation washed over us like a wave crashing against the shore. As a communication major and one who is passionate about visual communication, I was honored to be able to facilitate a way for them to see and talk to each other.

From her home in Diamond, Mo., my mom (upper right) and her lifelong friend (center) have their first FaceTime call in October, 2013.

One year ago, just like two girls in college, my mom and her friend had their first FaceTime call. Just like their undying friendship, one of the enduring conversation topics was---hairstyles! They remarked at how each other's hair looked.

Enduring friendship--oh that we all might be blessed to experience this in life.

My mom (left) and her dear friend pause for a photograph in front of a piano in a southwest Missouri home, circa late 1960s.