Don't ever buy me a goat!

I must admit i have always thought of charity donation as a very personal thing.
For example i mainly support the alzheimer's society due to my nan having alzheimer's and the mnd association due to my uncle having mnd. Both have now passed away but i like the idea of perhaps one day, maybe not even in my lifetime but one day... a cure being found and other families not having to suffer losing their loved ones in the way me and my family have.

Other people i presume will tend to support charities that they have some sort of connection with. Either through relatives, themselves or something they love like animals.

There are several charities i avoid, for example those that send me pens and raffle tickets all the time even though i never requested them and they seem to send them out to everyone as it says "to the householder" rather than my name. Several charity bosses seem to live in upmarket houses, drive really expensive cars and a few well known charities have given the same sob story on adverts for the last 10 years. For example if we haven't managed to stop at least some children in poverty stricken places from dying every few minutes by now then something is seriously wrong.  Especially when you think of how much must of been sent to them in 10 years. I also doubt we are the only country sending them money. So what has actually happened to our money over the years?  What have we improved? Nothing if you believe the adverts

So if i ever receive a gift certificate telling me i have sent some country a goat, chickens, a toilet or other such nonsense i wouldn't be very impressed. Not because i don't have a heart but because i think the majority of the money that goes on some charities never ends up where it's supposed too. Thinking about it, i would rather support small local charities that really seem to struggle to exist. At least then i would have a feeling of the money actually being appreciated and used for its purpose.

Nerditorial and how A Healthy Lifestyle Avoids Alzheimer’s

As people who have read my blog and who know me would be aware Alzheimer’s robbed me of my nan. Rather than go on about it again i will just direct you to my post. Alzheimer's - Still in Mourning

I spotted a tweet today about how a healthy lifestyle avoids Alzheimer's so i RTed, As you do when something interests you. I just had a message that for the RT i won a copy of Rango on dvd! Talk about shocked! *in a nice way* :)

Anyway Nerditorial are on twitter (as if you haven't already worked that out!) You can follow them here Nerditorial on twitter and they have a really good well laid out website. I will direct you to the post that interested me enough for me to RT it. A Healthy Lifestyle Avoids Alzheimer’s
Nerditorial discuss a wide range of interesting subjects. For example politics, science and film reviews. They are well worth checking out.

Alzheimer's - Still in Mourning.

Anger. Fear. Shame. Sadness.

These are the emotions i experienced due to my nan having Alzheimer's. It's really hard to imagine someone you love so much losing their memories of you unless you are put in the awful situation of it happening to you.

Anger :- I think i experienced Anger mainly at myself for not having the courage to face my nan in her final years and at the so called "god or higher being" for giving my strong willed nan who had brought up five children by herself , one of whom was disabled such an awful illness when she deserved to have so much happiness in her later years.

Fear. I think this is of the unknown. How long do they have? How long before they forget you? How will i be able to cope without them in my life?

Shame.  For not visiting when i should of. For not being there. For not being the model grandaughter she had probably wished for.

Sadness. You mourn for them when the illness is diagnosed. You mourn for them when their memories fade. You eventually mourn for them when they are no longer with us.

My nan died in April 2009, 3 months after my grandad. She was from Faicchio in Italy yet lived most of her adult life in Wales. She is now at rest back in her home town in Italy. We shared a birthday, many laughs and tears over the years. She was my nan and i loved her more than anything.

It always surprises me when someone dies that people seem to move on with their lives quite effortlessly, forget if you will and continue their lives as normal. Since April 2009 i have longed for the day when i can no longer think of my nan each day without tears welling up in my eyes. I know..life goes on and people have to move forward but i'm still in mourning. Maybe i will always be.

Hopefully one day there will be a cure or something that significantly delays the symptoms so other people don't lose their loved ones to an illness that seems to cruel.

Hold your loved ones close. Nobody knows what tomorrow holds.

"Maybe I didn't treat you
Quite as good as I should have"