Paul and I drove up to CT to see my parents today. Mom was put on
hospice care about two months ago, but I naively hoped that this might have been more about changing her type of care rather than a real harbinger of what was coming. That did seem to be the case at first, but she has been declining suddenly just lately. I spoke with hospice people twice this past week, and a little with Mom herself, and decided I could not wait till next month for my next visit. I'm in the last few weeks of a graduate degree program, and we were/are planning to celebrate with my parents on Mother's Day in May, two days after I graduate. Was/am hoping to show Mom my diploma and tell her I am grateful to be following in her footsteps. (Always a hard worker, she got a Master's from Columbia when she was a brand-new mother!)
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We stopped and picked up Dad first. |
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Dad asked me to bring him toothpaste. He couldn't recall the kind he liked so Paul got him a variety. |
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Saw this old photo of my parents in my Dad's apartment. |
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Mom loves flowers |
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Mom was asleep and slept heavily throughout our entire visit. Dad was being very brave. |
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Even though Mom was sleeping we got some snuggling in |
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She loves cats: I hope she enjoys the company of a few furry friends when she wakes up! |
This is a natural phase in existence, but it is incredibly painful. Driving home we were listening to a talk by Edward Hirsch and he quoted this beautiful poem:
Life flows to death as rivers to the sea /And life is fresh and death is salt to me. (J.V. Cunningham)
Of course, everyone is hoping she will pull up out of this recent nose-dive, and she could! She's always been so strong. Keep the river flowing Mom...
♡☼♡