A Good Day
We take them as we get them
I go every day now. Mom has been less and less engaged, but I’m keeping the stuff we always do as consistent as possible. I’ve loved the ritual of giving her manicures. She will pick the color and seeing her pretty nails makes her smile as the days go by. Getting them done on Tuesday was more challenging than usual, but I let go of the need for them to be look great and we just let shorter, shaped and pretty be the goal. As I worked I started singing songs we would listen to when I was a kid. My favorites I remember most are from “My Name Is Barbra” by Streisand, so a couple of them came out of me as I worked.
The weekend and the early week had been rough. Sleepy and a bit weepy was the order of the day - which is fine, we stay in ‘what is’ in the moment. So, today was a delightful surprise.
My brother Bill was there for the afternoon. He told me that when he arrived she smiled and told him he looked handsome. When I arrived she pointed to my head and I think she said “nice.” She liked my curls today and I told her I’d had my haircut. Mom and Bill had funny cat videos on YouTube playing, and Mom pointed and told us she wanted to continue them. We all laughed at them together. Using her GrandPad we took the opportunity to call our brother Mike and he got to have a little of the Good Day too. The latest workaround with the GrandPad video calls is I hold it in front of my face, hiding my eyes, and Mom can better make eye contact with the caller.
Bill always cleans her glasses and he did that for her. When he put them back on for her and said “How’s that” - she said WOOOOO - like all the world was suddenly clear! Being funny, being Mom, these are the glimmers we treasure.
A Good Day. Who would’ve thought? I make the choice to live the moment with Mom and when they are good moments it’s totally worth the crappy ones.
Not sure there’s anything edifying in all this. But I’m here for it - writing it down so that it’s here in case the one person who needs to know that there can be good and even fun days finds it when they need to.
I loved reading about your good day. We had to say goodbye today and drive home to Delaware. Mom didn’t want to get out of bed and was barely talking. But after two days of stimulation, I’m sure she was just exhausted. She recognized us and said “I love you.” For today, that’s a good day.