Wonderful, Wonderful, Wonderful

I visited my mom in a nursing center in Birmingham, Alabama a few weeks ago. My mom has vascular dementia and that has robbed her of her memory.

Long gone are the days when she lit up a room by sharing her delight and joy with everyone. All of my friends enjoyed coming to my house I think more often than not, because of my mom than me. Mom always took a genuine interest in everyone she met.

As a young teenager I was often sullen going through the pre-adolescent angst. My mom was relentless in her pursuit of joy and gratitude. We heard Mom around our house frequently saying, "Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful" or "That's delightful!" She would sit at the kitchen table and paint or draw because as she said, "it made her heart sing."

There really aren't words to describe this last visit with my mom. Since I only get to see her a couple of times a year, the change in her is significant each time. This time I found Mom in a Geri chair and spending most of her time sleeping. She will eat if someone has the patience to wake her up for each bite. Our times together were basically me watching her sleep. When I was about to leave, I leaned down and hugged her and kissed her and told her how thankful I was that she was my mom. Her eyes fluttered awake momentarily as she said to me, "Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful."

Mom is still in there. Even though she may not know who I am, I'll never forget who she is or what she has done for me. She showed me that gratitude in all things is beneficial to me and those around me. Out of that gratitude, joy is born.

The soul remembers what time nor memory can erase.

Uneraseable,
Lila