Today was one of those flat summer days–flannel-colored sky and spongy air. I usually wake up on Sunday morning with a list of chores that should have been done on Saturday, and today was no different. Yesterday was a washout because my “post-traumatic” migraine (entirely expected) kept me out of the sunshine and in my… Continue reading Quotidian / August 20, 2006
I lost count of the number of times today that my mother asked me why “he” hadn’t come home. I think she may have split me into two people: the person she can see and the other person she talked to on the phone. She’s seemed a little “off” for the past couple of days–a… Continue reading Something’s got to give / July 11, 2006
“He made such a nice dinner tonight,” my mother said, once we’d finished and were relaxing in the living room. In the past I would have corrected her: “No, Ma, I made the dinner.” But now it isn’t important. The gender confusion is actually a clue to me that she’s contented. The presence of “him”–usually… Continue reading Mom’s mental map / June 28, 2006
Just a short post to, first, link to an excellent essay called How to Be Where You Are by my friend Gail, at Mom and Me Too, about mindfulness and how the daily acts of caregiving can enlarge what seems sometimes to be the very isolated life of the caregiver and her Ancient One. In her essay Gail… Continue reading More than this / June 25, 2006
So this has nothing at all to do with dementia. A fairly big-budget movie is being filmed here in Providence, and I’ve run into it on several occasions over the past couple of months. It’s a live-action version of the old cartoon called “Underdog,” which I missed altogether as a kid, my cartoon days having… Continue reading Tinsel Town and my morning commute / June 22, 2006
I took the past two days off, so I’ve been with my mother for four days straight, all day. There’s a lot I don’t see of her daily mindset because I leave for work at 7:15 and don’t get home until about 4. By that time of day she’s usually as sharp as she can… Continue reading A day in the life / June 13, 2006
