The thing about watching my mom lose her grip on reality is that I feel like I’m participating in some way. For years now, I’ve honed my skills as mom-whisperer: she’s always been a rambling talker and I’ve learned to decipher the meaning. Now, though, my mental habit of pulling multiple threads of conversation together into a meaningful web is making me feel a little crazy myself. I find myself grasping for a throughline that is fading fast.
Today is Darcy’s first day at a full time job! She’ll be working at a place that does behavior therapy for autistic children.
I snuck a picture of the best girl ever.
Caring for my mom makes me increasingly grateful for a clear mind. Here on the cusp of fifty years old, I am in some senses at the height of my powers. What I have lost in physical ability has been compensated for by patience. What I have lost in mental agility has been compensated for by judgment. Watching her decline, I understand that my mental clarity is today’s grace: it is not mine by right, and will not last forever.
Well, Dad, I tuned up our truck today. It’s the first time I’ve tried that in the twenty years since I inherited it from you. Replaced the fuel filter, spark plugs and wires, distributor cap and rotor. After I was done I drove it for a few miles through Oolitic and Bedford and thought about you. I decided this year to start working on the truck, now that I have the new job and can drive it more regularly.
I’ve been having fun researching a Civil War letter written by my great-great-great grandfather on my dad’s side. Also, in preparation for a possible road trip, I’ve been researching my mom’s family’s migration from Kentucky to Indiana. So expect some blog posts of interest to no one but me!
Happy belated solstice, everyone. We’re at the turn of the year – days start getting shorter and the heat really cranks up here in Indiana. I had good intentions of posting daily about vacation but obviously that didn’t work out. Flying to California As previously noted, we had some problems getting to San Francisco – but nothing like what was to come. (Cue ominous music.) San Francisco We already weren’t planning a lot of time for San Francisco but, with the additional delay, we basically just had one day.