I’ve been sick. For
over two weeks now I’ve been stuck at home. It was nothing horrible like the flu but a
sinus infection that decided to take my asthma out to play. That means no visits to Mom for that time
also.
This morning I was finally able to visit. Mom was sleeping soundly in her wheelchair
when I arrived, holding her baby doll on her lap. I gently checked her over, inspecting her
hands, her ankles, and rubbing her back so that she would slowly wake up.
When she awoke, she looked at me with that little look that
says hello, whoever you are. She asked
me about the baby seemingly thinking I was there to see it. When I let her know I was there to see her,
she shrugged and started telling me about the baby.
She started removing the baby doll’s pajamas so I got out
some clothes and helped her put the clothes on the baby. As we worked, I talked a bit and called her
Mom. Her response? “Well, I don’t know about that.” :)
Our visit continued with Mom dozing off and on. At one point she awoke and I took the
opportunity to show her the pictures that I always go through of Grandpa and
Grandma and so on. She knew them right
away as she quite often does but today she surprised me! When I brought up the picture of her aunts,
she immediately pointed to each one and said, “That’s Aunt Sattie and Aunt
Emma and that's me.” Wow! That hasn’t happened in a very long time!
I continued through the pictures and she pointed here and
there at herself as a small child. I
couldn’t tell if she recognized herself as a teenager or in her wedding picture. When I got to the last, the one of our family
when I was little, I pointed and said the name of each family member and she
just smiled and nodded. I couldn’t tell
if it was registering or not.
A short while later it was time to take her into lunch. Once there, she was trying to look back at me
to see who had wheeled her in so I got down where she could see me and she smiled
and said, “Oh, you’re mine.”
The mom I knew for so much of my life has been gone a long
time and I miss her terribly but it’s those brief moments and little surprises
that grab my heart.
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