Letters
I’m supposed to be making myself some dinner, rehearsing, and perhaps most importantly, enjoying the feeling of a Friday evening after a full and busy work week. I’ve dealt with the cat hair crisis behind the stereo cabinet, and arranged said cabinet so our 16 year old dander and fur cloud kitty can’t nest behind […]
Poetry
I rarely write poetry. During unusual, trying, and intense circumstances I sometimes find myself spontaneously writing a poem. The following came tumbling out all at once at the end of my father’s hospital stay in March of 2013: The cool air of the ICU.The warmth of my father’s skin.The sound of my father’s breath.The sun […]
Bits & Pieces…
The subject line Bits & Pieces surely is the most often used header in blogs like this one. There are so many small observations, none of them earth shattering in and of themselves, yet significant in the moment they were happening. When mom was here toward the end of last month, repeated stories aside, she […]
Department of Licensing
Two days ago, mom received a form letter from the department of licensing giving her 60 days (which happens to more or less coincide with the date she retested for her driver’s license) to have a physician attest that there is no physical reason she can’t continue to drive. Of course, there is the caveat […]
Birthdays and Tax Returns
The weekend before last my 15 month old grandson and I went to the Island to attend a gathering, arranged by one of mom’s wonderful neighbors, for her birthday. The turnout was impressive. Mom looked and felt terrific. If anyone were asked to guess her age, they would likely underestimate by at least 10 or 15 […]
Corresponding with the Dead IV
Finally, mom wrote me today to say she’d been writing to Tom and hadn’t heard back from him and was going to call him at the university. I just called her to say I’d received her note. She said the university was closed for the day by the time she made the call. I took […]
Corresponding with the Dead III
I called Mom on Monday, as planned, to follow up on her ‘return to sender’ e-mail question. A conversation I hoped would allow me to close the loop in her understanding/remembering that her friend and colleague, for whom she’s been writing/editing all of a sudden, had passed away some years ago. Mom didn’t know what […]
Corresponding with the Dead II
Mom has now, in four days, sent a total of six e-mails to her late author, Tom. Tom’s partner suggested I get in touch with the professor who replaced Tom at the university in Idaho, and ask her if she would send mom a note letting her know Tom had passed. Mom would never question […]
Corresponding with the Dead
I got wind today that my mom wrote a note to a favorite author out of Idaho state. Someone she edited for in the past. They formed a friendship over the years and eventually the author, Tom, and his partner stopped in and visited mom and dad on a westward travel from Idaho. I’ve heard […]
Dementia Dance - Travels with Mom 