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…
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.…
Thirty Thankful Thoughts
This is the month of Thanksgiving, so I have made my list of Thirty Thankful Thoughts – one for each day of the month. Nothing spectacular or earth-shattering. Just an appreciation for moments in everyday life that I would like to share. I hope you and yours had a wonderful month and Thanksgiving. Thankful for: November 1: Our new grandson and the joy he brings our family. November 2: Family near and far. November 3: My daughter and son-in-law as they celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary. November 4: Sunday afternoons of football and books to read. November 5: The ability to move and exercise. November…
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…
What to Read – Nonfiction Recommendations
I taught English for twenty years and read a wide range of books during that time as well as during college. I also spent time rereading books for class. Even though you think you might know a book, it is (or at least was for me) always important to reread (okay, maybe skim if I had been teaching it for several years). After leaving teaching in 2016, I went on a pop fiction spree and read several books of that nature (Janet Evanovich, Sue Grafton, David Baldacci, etc) for quite a while. Now, though, I hope to return to reading books that have been on…