I Was Missing My Mom So Much

Since my mother's move to a nursing home, I haven't seen her nearly as often as I would have liked; and I found myself really missing her.  Fortunately, the solution was simple.  :)  I asked Dad if he would be willing to bring her out to our house this afternoon so she could spend some time with us and then have supper with us, and then I would take her back to the nursing home after we ate.  Dad was willing, and it all went so smoothly--such a gift for my aching heart!

I cannot tell you how good it was to have my mother here again in my home...to see her familiar form in my kitchen, a place she has spent so many hours of her life (since she lived in this home 33 years before moving out so I could replace her as the chief in this kitchen) ;-) ...to hear her ask what she could do to help...to give her the simple task of washing a bowl of eggs from our chickens...

 ...to see her working side by side with my children...

 ...to get her settled in the rocking chair in the living room so she could listen to Josiah play his violin...

 ...and watch Shav do somersaults on the couch...

...to have her wander back into the kitchen to offer her help again...to then work together as we chopped potatoes for the potato soup we enjoyed for supper...to see her across the table as we ate...to rejoice that once again, all the chairs around our table were filled.

It did this daughter's heart good, I tell you, to simply BE with my mother again.

After we finished eating, I took her back to her new home; and David, Shav, and Moriah came along.  As we walked in, the other residents were sitting together around a long table, playing Bingo.  :)  They perked up at the sight of us and welcomed my mother back...especially Lola, a woman who caught my eye from the very first time I toured the facility--she has become a caring friend to my mother, and she enjoys putting puzzles together at a table near the piano when my mom is playing her beautiful music there.  It's sweet to see their friendship in these twilight years of their lives.

I still wish my mom didn't have Alzheimer's.  I still wish life's journey hadn't taken us down this path.  I still miss my mom.

But our time together this evening reminded me of something:  I still have her.

My heart finds peace again...