Visiting my Parents

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!)

We stopped and picked up Dad first. 

Dad asked me to bring him toothpaste. He couldn't recall the kind he liked so Paul got him a variety.

Saw this old photo of my parents in my Dad's apartment.

Mom loves flowers

Mom was asleep and slept heavily throughout our entire visit. Dad was being very brave.

Even though Mom was sleeping we got some snuggling in

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... ♡☼♡