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In my recent post about preserving memories of the funny and endearing things our children have said over the years, you may have noticed the exchange between our daughters where they were making a paper chain for their daddy's birthday celebration.

In true form, the older sister was micromanaging her younger sister’s efforts by basically insisting that she get to do all of the work -- so that the finished product would be up to her high standards. Our younger daughter wouldn't even dignify her sister with complete sentences in reply, choosing instead to end her responses with "and blah, blah, blah". A toddler's version of "yada. yada, yada." So, just this last weekend, as a family, we had all shared a renewed chuckle over that whole situation when I included the quote in my blog.

Fast forward to the present. My husband's mother, sadly, has Alzheimer's Disease. In the last six to nine months, the disease has progressed, causing her to have more and more trouble putting together coherent sentences. Communicating with her is becoming exceedingly difficult, with few lucid moments. As espoused in the tagline for my blog here on family.com, in this situation and in all facets of our lives, we have learned that if you don't laugh, you cry. Therefore, we often find ourselves laughing at the funny things Mom says and does these days.

So, my Big Strong Man and I were headed out on a "hot date" when we realized that we needed to take some supplies over to the center where she now lives. Arriving after she was already asleep, my husband just slipped back into her room to drop off the supplies. Quiet as he was, Mom woke up when he entered her room. My husband announced who he was and that he was just coming by with some things she needed. Here's the exchange that followed:

"Hi, Mom. Sorry to wake you. I was just bringing by some supplies."
"Well, boog-a-dee-boo to you, too."
(Chuckling and giving her a kiss on the cheek.) "You should get back to sleep now, Mom."
"Well, blah, blah, blah."

My husband nearly doubled over with laughter. It seems that this is a phrase to be used at the beginning and at the ending of our lives. Our two-year-old used it to fill in the blanks when she didn't feel like uttering anything else, and now my hubby's 74 year old mother is using it to fill the void of conversational skill she once knew so well.

Go figure. Circle of life.