On this special day, I want to give you the gift of your family. Take a moment and think back on the special women in your life. (They don’t have to be blood related to have impacted your life.)

I want to share my story. The above picture is four generations of women in my family. There’s my grandmother in the middle, my mother, me, and my daughter, the newest female in our family. That picture was taken more than ten years ago. That picture was taken with the intention of capturing four generations of Rutledge women in one sitting. But the picture captured much more. It hangs in my office by my desk and serves as a reminder.

My grandmother, in that picture, had been living with my mother for three years. My grandmother was in her fourth year of Dementia and well on her way to being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. This is one of the few pictures I have of her still possessing most of her memories. My grandmother knew me for me, in later years she knew me as my mother, and eventually she knew me as a friendly face.

My grandmother is from the deep south with a strong sense of family, fought for her life and her mind for thirteen years before she lost the fight. Like many of you who have lost loved ones to the disease, it was a hell of a ride. My mother kept her at home for years before eventually moving her into facility and faithfully visiting weekly.  My mother lived her life around my grandmother’s visits. When she and I would talk my mother would comment, “Your grandmother is still inside. She said…”

My grandmother is one of bravest women I know and my mother is one of the strongest women I know. They together gave me the strength and the idea for B&C United Home Care.

After 13 years of seeing what Dementia and Alzheimer’s can do to a family, to their finances, and to what the medical system has to offer families, I had to become a part of it. I had hoped to be able to help families with their journey.

Happy Mother’s Day to my grandmother, Mrs. Lois Rutledge-Burt (October 1926 – January 2017)  and to my mother, Nona. I love you both with all my heart.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you finding your journey.

Stay Inspired,

Shonda