Mom had a great day today!!! She was so present. It was just what we all needed.
I began the day with mom and found her just out of the shower and they had put her in the wheelchair. She was awake and the TV was on but she looked tired. I asked mom how the sub CNA was today and if she was nice, mom mouthed, “I don’t know. I think.” I thought I would try to do a crossword puzzle from one of the “mind stretcher” books we bought for mom a long time ago but never used. While I am not very good at crosswords, mom was an expert!!! She began each day, before the stroke/aneurysm, with a cup of coffee and the crossword. She paid attention and interested at first as I read the hints aloud and filled in the blanks but didn’t offer any answers at first. One of the hints was “Shuts with Force” so I read it to mom and said, “It begins with ‘s’” and mom mouthed, “SLAMS!!!” Another clue was “Married Secretly” and mom didn’t say anything but I said, “Hmmm…Eeee….” and she mouthed, “ELOPE!!” The next clue was, “Cotton gin inventor: Eli__” Mom mouthed, “Whitney.” Next, “Ancient Roman’s robe” I told mom, ”It ends with OGA” and she mouthed, “TOGA!” Another clue was, “Mixed-nuts nut” so I read the clue and told mom the word had an ‘H’ in it and started with a ‘CA’ and mom mouthed, “CASHEW.” She kept falling asleep on and off between interactions with me. A one point as she closed her eyes, I asked, “Mom?” she mouthed back, “What Kathy? What do you want?” then I said, “this thing stores grain. It’s on the property upstate, it starts with an ‘s’ and ends with an ‘o’ and corn can go in it….a siiiii….” Mom mouthed, “SILO!!” I said, “A cookie…a cream filled chocolate cookie that starts and ends with an ‘o’…an orrrrr….” Mom mouthed, “OREO” I said, “Something you put on toast…butter and….” Mom mouthed, “JELLY?” I said, “Prime time TV host that starts with JAY and last name starts with L….JAY Llll…” Mom mouthed, “Jay Leno” The nurse came to do mom’s trach care and mom answered a question about the crossword while the nurse was there and we all laughed and applauded mom. The question was, “Topeka’s state” and mom mouthed, “KANSAS.” Then mom said, “I’m staring at nothing.” I asked, “China’s continent..it starts with Aaaaa…” Mom mouthed, “Not Asia?” I said, “Yes, that’s it! ASIA!” Suddenly, mom said, “I have to go to the bathroom” then we continued the crossword puzzle. The next one was, “Herbal brews….oh what I like to drink” Mom shrugged her shoulders. I said, “Hey, what do I like to drink???” Mom mouthed, “Tea?” Correct. I gave mom the next clue, “Fire hydrant attachment…and it starts with ‘h’…” then I was distracted by someone and when I turned back to mom and the crossword I asked, “What was the clue again?” mom repeated it!! “What do you attach to the fire hydrant?” The next clue was, “To fuse like metal…with fire…” Mom mouthed, “WELD.”
Anthony, Con, Anthony Michael and Sammy came next to see mom. We did some more of the crossword puzzle and then mom began to laugh at Anthony’s jokes. Anthony Michael, Samantha and I went to see “127 Hours” (unbelievable movie!!). While we were gone, Anthony did a clicking sound with his tongue and asked mom to do it and she did. Mom worked with the orange tube by pulling and holding on to it and extending her arms with Con. Terry and Dad joined Anthony and Con shortly after we 3 left. They watched Jean’s movie, “Just Like Joe” and talked. Anthony worked on mom’s legs and she was able to raise BOTH legs!! She raised the right leg independent of the left, but she could only raise her left leg in tandem with the right. They watched TV and laughed and talked a lot. At one point, mom put her arm around Terry and hugged her and also rubbed Terry’s back. When Anthony, Con and the kids left, mom hugged the kids---a real hug!! First time in many months! I began to do the crossword puzzle again and the clue was “Overly trusting…begins with ‘n’” and mom mouthed, “Naïve” like she was annoyed that I thought she wouldn’t know it or something!! They put mom back in bed and Terry stayed with mom while dad and I went to dinner and the movies with Claudia and John and Debbie (Claudia’s friend). We saw “Unknown” (I love to go to the movies, as you can see!!). Terry stayed with mom all evening. I came back to tuck mom in around 9:30 and Terry was just leaving. Terry said mom slept for 2 1/2 hours after we left then she woke up and had been awake since. They watched TV and talked and looked at pictures on the bulletin board beside mom's bed. When I came into mom's room, she was awake and still looking at the bulletin board. I said hello and she smiled broadly and seemed glad and surprised to see me. I told her we all had a great day today and she agreed and smiled. I told her I was here to put her to bed for the night and that she should sleep all night and be awake tomorrow with us. She said OK. Then we prayed together...we finished with the "Our Father" which mom said every word to. We spoke about God's love and peace and rest for a while. I kissed mom and she kissed me and I told her I loved her and she told me the same thing. I said I had to go and she mouthed, "I want to go too" but she didn't look sad. She looked very content and peaceful.
"For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see." Psalm 36:9
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