Visiting my mom

I have been visiting my mother and sisters in Utah. My mom is in assisted living, on hospice as of this week; she’s 93 and hoping to go soon. My older sister has had my parents living with her for several years, her choice. Her husband has been enormously helpful and supportive; they are his parents, too, in his heart.

My younger sister and I both live across the country from them; I’m in Indiana and she’s in New York. We did not hold a family reunion this summer because my father passed away last summer and we all went. I paid the way for all my Indiana-dwelling children to get there. In the past we’ve held family reunions every other year. Even then it’s hard to save up enough money to travel. My sister came without her sons and her husband; I came with two of my daughters who had saved enough to travel cheaply.

I am very grateful they came with me. My emotions have weighed me down all this week, between bouts of laughing and talking and enjoying time with family. We have all napped every day. It’s work to process emotion!

As of this writing, my mother is still alive. She hugged me before we left for the airport. She said, “You’re doing a good job with these children, Melinda. They’re good people.” I agreed. I’m glad to hear her say it. I have wanted to be like my mother since I was very little. She’s a good mom. We are not clones of each other, but we both love people and are trying to do good things with them.