Nanay Two and Tatay

My mother's parents arrived in Chiang Mai last Sunday, very tired from their long journey. Accompanying them was my mother's sister, Tita (aunt in Tagalog) Lib. They entered our house quite exhausted from all their traveling, and swiftly moved into their rooms. There they slept for most of the day, as they are accustomed to doing at their own house in Toronto.

During their visit here, Nanay Two and Tatay have been through a wide range of things to do here in Chiang Mai. They have visited the local malls, ridden elephants, and seen the Ratchaphruek for the third time today. My grandmother loves gardening, and really enjoyed seeing all of the beautiful flowers. Unfortunately, she suffers from Alzheimer's, and can scarcely remember the day's events come that evening. At picture above is Nanay (mother in Tagalog) and her nanay (83 years old in May).

Alzheimer's disease is a condition which afflicts the unwell with a steady decrease in memory. We as a family have grown used to this, and do our best to live accordingly with her condition. Many times a day are we asked the same question, and we reply with a smile and roughly the same answer. One such example of her state is her asking repeatedly, having been driven back to our house, if this is where her and Tatay were sleeping, and if they'd been here before. (My grandparents visited us here in Chiang Mai in October 2004). Another hilarious incident was when my aunt stated to her that they were currently riding an elephant. My grandmother was apparently surprised and said, "ay nasaan?" (where is it?). At right is my Aunt Lib from Salmon Arm, B.C. with my grandmother on their elephant trek on the river.

They are so far enjoying their stay here, and will, on Sunday, continue onwards with their trip to the Philippines. They will be back in 2 weeks on their return trip to Canada. Please pray for their health and our continued hospitality in opening up our home to them, and that this would be a really relaxing, interesting stay for the both of them.