A BACK STORY
In 1997 I had written a longer version of “The Ring”. I found this and more of my musings in a folder I had from the time I did my cooking memoir/cook book. For many years I was so filled with frustration in handling my mother’s problems that they seemed to consume my life.
In spite of my despair, I had one saving grace. I was able to spend days with two of our grandchildren, Lauren and Alex who lived only ten minutes away. Sometimes I’d take them to visit my mother when she was still in assisted living and then into the nursing section with the result that all the staff knew them both. Mom knew them too, for a short time. When Lauren started pre-school, I would take only Alex who was about one year old. The residents as well as the staff always welcomed him by name and spoiled him when they had ice cream socials.
Another of my writings was entitled “Mama’s Bank Account” about the fact she could never balance her bank checking account and was constantly bouncing checks. This was something that has affected both my brothers and me to this day.
I am glad you had Lauren and Alex to take some of the focus off.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Lauren and Alex had that experience. When Rob was young, we often took him along when we visited Rich's elderly relatives in hospitals and nursing homes in NY. All of the residents enjoyed seeing a young face and talking with him, and Rob knew that as a kid he could bring cheer to people in ways that adults sometimes couldn't. His curly blond hair was a frequent topic of conversation.
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