Poem: Beginning and End

Posted on March 7, 2010 - by: Deborah Tornillo

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You were there
I took my first breath.
Knowing there would be many left.

You were there
I looked into my mother’s eyes.
It was your plan never to be denied.

You were there
I took my first steps.
You love me even through my missteps.

You were there
I cried my first tears.
You exchanged them for joy many years.

You were there
Giving me the gifts of life.
The joy of being a mother and a loved wife.

You were there
I told my father it was okay to let go.
Breaking my heart, it was a devastating blow.

You were there
I held my mother, looking into her eyes.
She said she loved me, and then she died.

You were there
In the beginning and will be in the end.
Holding and loving me until we’re together again.

Tags: grief, hope

Deborah Tornillo

Deborah Tornillo was born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas by her loving and nurturing parents. She attended the University of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where she studied Art. After marrying, raising two daughters and enjoying life with her family, Deborah joined a higher calling by committing to be the primary caregiver for her parents, both of whom were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in February 2006. In her new collection of memoirs, 36 Days Apart: A memoir of a daughter, her parents and the Beast named – Alzheimer’s: A story of Life, Love and Death, Deborah chronicles the time spent taking care of her mother and father. 36 Days Apart recounts this painful, enlightening journey, and Tornillo writes candidly about the struggles and fears she faced as her parents’ caregiver. As their disease progressed, Tornillo was faced with the difficult task of learning how to be a parent to her own parents. Through the year and a half of caring for them she extensively researched Alzheimer’s in order to provide the best care possible, all the while knowing that the disease would eventually win in the end. 36 Days Apart gives an honest, unflinching look at the realities of caring for and losing loved ones to Alzheimer’s. Tornillo gives the reader an inside look into the day-to-day life she faced during her heartbreaking, difficult time.