This post is the conclusion to my last post about Mom. Our last Christmas with the remnants of our Mom was in 1997. We knew that it would be. We made our peace with that and tried to prepare for what was to come. The years 1998 and 1999 are a blur for me. Mother’s mental capacity and physical health rapidly declined. Two years of visits with doctors to discuss her physical problems. The blankness of her stare with an unintelligible babble or sound comprised our visits. I was a single mom starting my teaching career, and my sister, blessedly, attended to many of those…
Category: Family
Mom, Dementia, and Daughters
I have not written much about my Mom as she has been physically gone for almost nineteen years. She died when she was 74. She would have been 95 years old on January 30 this year. Losing Dad is still fresh, and writing has been a catharsis for me in handling my grief. Mom, though, and her circumstances, rendered a different kind of grief. My Mom had either Alzheimer’s (which we think) or vascular dementia (something about which I recently read). The phone rings at 4:03 in the morning. Sleep, uncertainty. Answer? Yes/No? Prank? Emergency? Respond. News. Nursing home. Hospital. Another step toward going home.…
Autumn in Our Part of the Ozarks
When does Autumn really begin? The unofficial end of summer comes after the Labor Day weekend. We use the pool Labor Day, thinking it will be the last time of the season when in reality we could probably use it several times throughout September. Somehow the appeal is lost and we are ready to move on to Fall. We might be ready, but the bugs are not and the calendar says “No” until September 21. It is now the beginning of November, and yet, I see this around my door late last week. (Will mother nature please tell the walking sticks to die…
Daddy – I am Reminded
I wrote the first draft of the following in September 2016, a year after losing Daddy. Obviously, he is on my mind this week as he is every day. I mostly wrote as if speaking to him. Thank you for reading and for indulging me this opportunity to share. There you are, wrapped in blue satin fluff. You are exposed from the waist up, all dapper in your navy blue suit and light blue shirt, and a tie (did you have on a tie?). Your hands are placed one atop the other and rest on the bill of your Chosin Few hat that is…
Generations of Love – One Daughter to Another
My oldest daughter was born in 1987. We celebrated her birthday last week. When she was born and I held that sweet baby in my arms, I never knew so much love could exist in my heart. Six weeks after her birth my maternal Grandmother passed away on Sept 28, 1987. I found something that I wrote about the two of them at that time. I was 25 years old. “When these two events occurred I was impressed by the course of life and how I go on each day, one at a time. Many hours adding up to many days that turn into many…