my mother used to have a rosary. we were wondering where it was because we thought it might give her some comfort these days. i found it in a drawer and gave it to her. she was happy to have it. that night, she got up after only a few hours of sleep. she was complaining about itchy feet and couldn’t get back to sleep. maybe she has athlete’s foot. i put some ointment on it. she sat down in the living room. she picked up the rosary and looked at it and seemed satisfied as she said “ahh”. then used it to scratch her toes... “ahhh...”
i can’t help observing her and wondering about the brain’s functions and malfunctions.
later, she woke up from a dream and tried to explain to me what was bothering her.
“i don’t know how to say it – february 2 is a tuesday, it’s the day, you can touch it on the calendar.”
a friend of mine who’s dad had alzheimers described it best. she said that he was in a “waking dream”
“i don’t want to join this club next year”. sometimes she is like a simple person, sometimes like an insane person. always nice, sometimes even cheery. she’s happy in general.
keep thinking of film “curious case of benjamin button” – writer must have seen this. very child like. she still knows how to peel broccoli and shell shrimp.
it is sad that she has to go to a nursing home, but she is so fortunate that she has the means to pay for a place where they will look after her. lucky to have a daughter and son in law who are doctors. i keep thinking that the baby boomers ahead of me will figure out how to do this. they will fix it before i get there. how do you check out if you want to? or maybe the memory thing will be curable or we won’t get there to begin with. maybe by then, we will already be virtual people, giving up our bodies and living in the computer. maybe not...
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