Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Why am I here?

My Mom was having a bad day, but she knew exactly where she was. And it seemed as though she was not happy about it.

"Oh Judy," she sighed, "Why am I still here?"

"Well, Mom," I answered, launching into my standard litany. "You've had a stroke, and you weren't safe at home anymore."

"No, no," she replied, impatiently, "I mean, why am I still HERE?"

"Oh, I think I get it now, you mean why are you HERE?," and I indicated the world around us with a sweep of both hands.

She nodded.

"Well, Mom," I said with a sigh, "I guess you're still here [once again gesturing laterally to the surrounding world] because you're not yet THERE."

She watched me raise my hands up to indicate the sky above, paused thoughtfully, then burst out giggling.

3 comments:

JeanMac said...

Now that's a sweet moment to remember - a hug to you.

Laura in L.A. said...

I'm glad that Mom can talk to you in her way about death. I think that's very important.

My 86-year-old grandma died four weeks after breaking her hip. She told me daily that she wanted to "go to heaven", and I told her I loved her, but that I understood. My Mom wouldn't (couldn't)listen to that from her own mother, but I did. I hope my grandma was at peace when she died in the middle of the night--I think she was.

I pray for peace for your Mom, and for you.

Mauigirl said...

Your mom sounds as if she is very cognizant of things despite her lapses. I agree it's a good thing she and you can talk about these things.