Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Perspective

Gosh, time flies. I can't believe it was almost two months ago that I wrote about Picasso!

I've been continuing my efforts to go through Mom's stuff. I go back and forth between clothes, collectibles, and paperwork.

Today, I dropped off 20 pocketbooks (purses for those of you on the West Coast) and 10 pair of shoes to Dress for Success. It is a local charity that helps needy women with professional clothing for job interviews.

I also set aside four casual pairs of shoes and five sweaters to bring up for Mom. When I got to her place, I dropped by the office where they mark everything with her name, then continued on and joined her on the sofa where she was sitting. Her finger nail polish was chipping so I did her nails. I think the other women (residents and staff) are a bit envious since they always joke about me doing theirs, too.

As the polish dried, one of the aides came down the hall with the clothes so she could hang them in my Mom's closet.

Me: [Excited.] Oh, look! All these new clothes are for you!

Aide: [Sits on couch next to mom, displaying items one at a time.] Look at all these sweaters!

Me: I just did her nails. Pretty pink!

Mom held up her hands and grinned.

Aide: They're beautiful! I'm going to put all these nice new things in your closet. They're all for you!

Mom: [Bottom lip quivering.] I'm really lucky.

At that moment, she thought she was. And my bottom lip was quivering, too. (The tears are rolling down my face as I type this.)

3 comments:

Mom said...

Your mom is a lucky woman. She has a good son.

Greg said...

A lovely moment. I remember feeling emotional the first time my Mum welled up with gratitude like that. Remember how different it was when you were looking after her full time and getting little sleep and spending your waking hours vigilant and worried? Now you can swoop in and be wonderful and she's grateful and proud. It's a powerful thing for your Mum to express her appreciation, and I'm glad I experienced it.

I'm guessing you felt slightly fraudulent passing off her own clothes as new ones. Don't. Your Mom will have loved the attention, the care you've lavished on her. You ARE a great Son. And your Mom IS lucky. Not all Mom's have someone who cares enough for them to do what you've done and continue to do.

Hugs

citygirl said...

Aww...lovely posting. My mom used to say thank you all the time. Gratitude was the one thing she never lost. I used to love treating her to things (food, hairdo, manicure) and see how happy it would make her. Enjoy these times.