Mama is 96 Today

Here's a photo of my parents before Mama got Alzheimer's and before my father turned into a skinny but determined old fellow. Today is Mama's 96th birthday. My father had it all planned out. I would drive up there, we would load her into my car and take her on a joy ride. Since she's bedridden, can't walk and they need to use an automatic lift of some sort to move her from bed to chair and back, this whole fantasy required a good bit of imagination.

He sort of sucked me into the whole idea. Poor Mama stuck in a nursing home. For her 96th birthday, we'll take her out for a drive. Never mind he can't stand upright without falling over and is a hazard to take places. Never mind that Mama doesn't know who we are or where she is most of the time. Never mind that when she was mobile and could go places, she so objected to having to go back to the Alzheimer's unit that we had to put lorazepam gel on her wrists to get her calmed down enough to return.

Saintly Brother pointed out the many ways I had lost my mind with this scheme. That's what Saintly Brothers are for. I am gracefully bowing out but not engaging my father in discussion about the why.

I may not even see her on her birthday, which makes me sad. Then again, I can see her on another day and we can declare THAT day her birthday, and pick any number we choose. We can celebrate her 50th birthday or whatever sounds good to her, since she doesn't know what year it is anyway. I doubt she'd believe me if I told her she was 96. I'm sure she wouldn't. I hardly believe it myself.

Here's a photo of us celebrating our birthdays in 2005. That's my non-teenage daughter, Lily, in the middle.

Comments

[Anwyn]

Happy Birthday, Mrs. annemom. Hang in there, Anne.