// When I was a little girl, I played hopscotch, jumped rope, and roller-skated on the sidewalk, careful to dodge the cracks! I made mud pies, picked blackberries, and scratched the chiggers until the bottoms of my feet burned. I caught tadpoles and lightning bugs and put them in a mason jar. I dressed up […]
Read More The Little Girl In The Looking GlassThere weren’t a lot of books in our house when I was little. However, we did have the essentials: The Bible (first and foremost), and the complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica of which my parents couldn’t afford, but the salesman said, “They will be an educational asset for your children for years.” What parent doesn’t want the best […]
Read More Reminising storytime with MomI do my mother’s laundry while she sits and watches. We talk, but these days our talks are more of a Q and A session. It’s hard holding a conversation with an Alzheimer’s patient, but I try. When we’re together, we sit close, watch others, and smile. However, there is one thing we enjoy: […]
Read More Having Coffee With My Best FriendIt doesn’t seem that long ago, although, it was, that I said I don’t know how I would handle it if my mother no longer recognized me. I also recall saying how devasting Alzheimer’s is because you lose your loved one twice: once when they no longer know you; and twice when […]
Read More Praising God for Grace and PeaceFor some unknown reason, I’m thinking of my dad today. Maybe it’s because I’m spending the weekend at my ‘happy place.’ Whenever my husband and I can get away from our weekday norm, we high-tail it to our mountain retreat. It is here that I allow myself to bask in the moment. We recently got […]
Read More Seizing The DayMom, August 2014, on our most recent Mother/Daughter trip I never thought of Mom as “elderly,” until now. Recently, reality sucker-punched me hard in the form of sheer terror and helplessness. Mom and I are two peas in one pod, so to speak. We are best friends. Every year we take a mother and daughter […]
Read More Shamed and Feeling GuiltyMost folks regard “the short rows” as a task nearing completion. Now that Mom seems content and happy in her new home, we celebrate “the short rows” with exhausted enthusiasm. The daunting three month preparation of seeking her new home, planning her move (what to take, what not to take), and organizing and working her […]
Read More Celebrating Home With A Yellow Ribbon And A Mason JarA friend told me to “find humor” in my mom’s move. I am happy to report that I found it, counting socks. At least once a week Mom and I take things to her new home, unpack it, and reorganize it. It’s not only a physical workout, especially for me, but it’s also an adventure […]
Read More Counting Socks(Photo Credit: Permission granted by Cynthia Angeles) (“Grief” oil painting by Cynthia Angeles. http://paintingsbycynthia.com) The past few weeks I have seen things that I have not seen in years, and I mean years. For instance, Mom and I opened the cedar chest last week. She wanted to see if there was anything in it that […]
Read More Sensing Loss
Dear God, I Am... 