It takes strength to make your way through grief, to grab hold of life and let it pull you forward. Patti Davis More Quotes by Patti Davis More Quotes From Patti Davis You know, if you hang around this earth long enough you really see how things come full circle. Patti Davis full-circle circles long Life Lesson 3: You can't rush grief. It has its own timetable. All you can do is make sure there are lots of soft places around - beds, pillows, arms, laps. Patti Davis bereavement life-lesson grief [On her father, Ronald Reagan:] How do you argue with someone who states that the people who are sleeping on the grates of the streets of America 'are homeless by choice'? Patti Davis sleep father america Christopher Reeve understood that everything begins with hope. His vision of walking again, his belief that he would be able to in his lifetime, towered over his broken body. Patti Davis broken-promises broken-heart vision Stories live in your blood and bones, follow the seasons and light candles on the darkest night-every storyteller knows she or he is also a teacher. Patti Davis light teacher night I often imagine what it would be like if my father were still here to mark his 100th birthday, if Alzheimer's hadn't clawed away years, possibilities, hopes. What would he think of all the commemorations and celebrations? Patti Davis alzheimers father thinking My father started growing very quiet as Alzheimer's started claiming more of him. The early stages of Alzheimer's are the hardest because that person is aware that they're losing awareness. And I think that that's why my father started growing more and more quiet. Patti Davis alzheimers father thinking Politics isn't what defines a person, and it shouldn't define a relationship. I made the mistake of letting that intrude on my relationships. Patti Davis persons made mistake That is your legacy on this Earth when you leave this Earth: how many hearts you touched. Patti Davis legacy earth heart The memories stayed with him for so long, and stayed vivid. And it didn't matter to me that he'd already repeated that before. I could hear it forever. Patti Davis forever memories long I would not call myself a veteran conspiracy theorist. Or an obsessed one. I pretty much peaked on the whole conspiracy theory thing in the '60s, with the grassy knoll, who really killed JFK, and who ordered the hit on Lee Harvey Oswald. Patti Davis veteran obsessed conspiracy I had this odd sibling rivalry with America. Patti Davis sibling brother america My father, for his part, was not a man to begrudge anyone a divergent opinion; he'd have been fine if I had written some articles disagreeing with his policies, or even given interviews, as long as I was respectful and civil. Patti Davis men long father Just think: people decided one day that a day should be set aside for motherhood and fatherhood. What a great concept that is. Patti Davis motherhood people thinking It's one thing to show your love for someone when everything is going fine and life is smooth. But when the 'in sickness and in health' part kicks in and sickness does enter your lives, you're tested. Your resilience is tested. Patti Davis sickness resilience doe Loss teaches you to figure things out as they come along. Patti Davis teach figures loss it ultimately doesn't matter which disease gnaws away at the body - it looks the same. The flesh surrenders, grows exhausted, and the eyes ask why. Patti Davis eye dying age Alzheimer's disease locks all the doors and exits. There is no reprieve, no escape. Patti Davis alzheimers locks doors And as far as false hope, there is no such thing. There is only hope or the absence of hope - nothing else. Patti Davis false-hope absence My father never feared death. He never saw it as an ending. I don't know why Alzheimer's was allowed to steal so much of my father before releasing him into the arms of death. But I know that at his last moment, when he opened his eyes - - eyes that had not opened for many, many days - - and looked at my mother, he showed us that neither disease nor death can conquer love. Patti Davis eye mother father
