Dad has Alzheimer’s. When people ask how he’s doing, I answer truthfully: he sucks. Because who would enjoy that?

That said, what if there was a way to enjoy it?

My dad forgets what I say easily. At lunch, he asked me many times what I do for a living. He would ask me to clarify and simplify each time. Eventually I got so good at answering the question he stopped asking a follow up.

I don’t see my dad as a “tool.” But I do get to experience aspects of my dad that I always found valuable: his obsession with making things simple.

Alzheimer’s sucks. If you ever ask me how dad is doing, I’ll tell you he sucks. But we seem to be enjoying the suck.

Life ain’t always pretty. But that doesn’t mean it’s not beautiful.