I have to give a speech tomorrow at my parents anniversary & am worried I'm going to get upset - my dad has Alzheimers. Any advice please?

[Honey1975]

It's my parents 50th wedding anniversary & tomorrow they're having a special lunch for about 20 people, close friends & family.
Me & my 2 brothers & sister are each going to speak for a couple of minutes about some memories from our childhood. We've agreed it should be happy & fun but everytime I try and write it I get upset thinking about how my lovely lovely dad has changed with this horrible illness. I'm worried I might not even be able to do it without getting emotional and then I know it would make him emotional & I don't want that.

My family are of the stiff upper lip variety so I know my siblings probably won't have any difficulty but i'm struggling with it a bit.

Any advice appreciated.

[ittakes2]

I'm sorry about your dad's A. My father'n'law has dementia and it's a cruel disease.
I had to give a speech for my dad's 70th recently. I controlled my nerves in a couple of ways with things I learnt on a public speaking course. 1) stand with both feet flat on the floor. Not only is it a confident stance but if you stand more on one leg you'll get uncomfortable and start shifting around. 2) look at the tops of people's heads or just over them so you don't connect with anyone's eye gaze. 3) it can also help if you make yourself listen for sounds in the room such as the clinking of cutlery - this stops you listening to the voice in your head which might be making you feel emotional.
I also find it helps if I know my speech off by heart, plus before I am expected to speak I go into a private space and put myself into a very happy mood to the point of laughing - so I then try to keep this feeling during the speech.
Good luck xxx

[Honey1975]

Thank you ittakes2 for those really good ideas. I spent last night going over it. I've decided to keep it lighthearted with a bit of humour as that way I think I am less likely to get emotional.
I also have some tablets for anxiety so I think i'll take one of those just before!