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Sunday Update: 60

10677199_10204203531425159_778917113_o (1)Let’s talk about life changes and how important it is to keep your head above the water line.  Monday I turned 60.  No big deal, just another year.  Well .. apparently not.  Mark Horvath said today “just because you bury toxic waste that doesn’t mean it goes away.”  This whole business of being happy no matter what doesn’t always work.

Now mind you, I’m not really sad.  I have a great life – a job I love, a career I’m growing, new and old friends who truly matter and family that love me.  You’d think that would be enough.  Human nature has us strive always for more.  I’ve been thinking about legacy, what do I want to leave behind.  Morbidity is on my mind – my mom is facing the last days of her life, and her world is getting smaller and smaller.  Has she done all she wants to? No – she wants to take more road trips with me, and that won’t happen.  She can’t breath well, and each breath gets harder and harder.  COPD and Congestive Heart Failure – it’s not pretty.  She was diagnosed June 1, 2012 – and we’ve done all we can to live fully and travel as much as we can.

I could say I’ll live to be 100.  I could fart rainbows and daisies too.  But the truth is, it’s not up to me.  Oh I’m a player – but I don’t have the last card.  There are days, like this weekend when I’ve been sick with a sinus and ear infection, when I wonder – why do I keep trying?  Is weight loss or good health ever going to be possible for me?  It’s so much work!  Yet, I ate pretty good this week. I didn’t ride my bike because I’ve coughed nonstop for days.  I’m trying it again tomorrow.  It’s like I feel a big change coming … and I’m not sure I want it to come.  One day my mom will be gone, and I’ll be the oldest in my immediate family.  It’s scary, and I will miss her so very much.

I have never been good at waiting.  But then, why am I even waiting for her death now?  Why am I not celebrating life with her? I am, I am.  I hold her hand all the time.  I answer her questions over and over.  Yesterday she told me she hates it – hates it when she can’t remember things, when she is confused.  My mother has never been confused in her life – and not knowing if its day or night, her table mates spouses names, where her great grandmother is buried – these are the things that are bothering her.  I told her that in the 1960’s they took drugs to be confused.  That I would now call her my hippie mother.  She liked that.

I can’t fix her, I can only be with her.  Talk to her every time she calls.  Tell her stories about our family history.  Hold her hand.  That will have to be enough. And my legacy?  What if I just woke up every day and have the intention that this day I will love, I will make a difference?

 

15 Comments

  1. Erin on June 8, 2015 at 12:23 am

    Beautiful piece. Everyone should read it



  2. Michael Libbie on June 8, 2015 at 12:40 am

    Thanks Deb…I can so relate. Well done my friend and…strength.



  3. Barb on June 8, 2015 at 1:05 am

    besutifully said, Deb. You have and are there for your Mom. That’s all we can do for our parents. You’ve done it well!



  4. deb on June 8, 2015 at 1:12 am

    Thank you all – I almost didn’t write this update, but decided the truth was good enough.



  5. anne on June 8, 2015 at 1:17 am

    Well said. I think all of us have or will face these same feelings. It’s hard but each day with an aging parent becomes a blessing.



  6. Elaine on June 8, 2015 at 1:35 am

    You have a way with words – beautiful . Made me teary eyed. I so wish that I could have told my Dad “goodbye and that I loved him plus thanks for everything he did for me.” Surround your mom with love!



  7. Peg on June 8, 2015 at 2:31 am

    Beautifully written… Very touching. I have many great memories of my grandmother.. Spent the last few years of her life caring for her….

    Your writings bring up many questions within me about time and legacy… About purpose and acceptance…



  8. Diane Brogan on June 8, 2015 at 4:59 am

    Well said Deb Brown. You are an inspiration. Thank you.



  9. MissDazey on June 8, 2015 at 10:53 am

    Good morning Deb,
    You are your Mother’s child. Full of love, compassion and positive living! She is proud of you, for all you have done so far in life but mainly for being “YOU”.

    I went to bed thinking of you and this post. I read it as a mother, as an old person. You many friends though are reading as a child who loves their parents. Adult children who wonder where the years have done. Your sincere, thoughtful post will touch them. That is a very sweet and good thing.

    Luv Ya!



  10. deb on June 8, 2015 at 12:07 pm

    Thank you everyone — I am glad that I could write this, it’s taken awhile, and I’m glad you like it. Upon waking up I feel better and am making my morning intentions to love and make a difference.



  11. Jean on June 8, 2015 at 1:01 pm

    This is a keeper – you’ll look back on this piece in a few years from now and be really glad you wrote it. I’m glad you wrote it too.



  12. Laura on June 8, 2015 at 3:34 pm

    So enjoyed your article 🙂 Makes me want to bridge some gaps in my life.

    Thanks!



  13. Jessica on June 8, 2015 at 5:54 pm

    Thank you for sharing! I love you, always have. Your mom is in my prayers.



  14. Jim on June 9, 2015 at 12:45 am

    Sure miss Shirley & her family when they aren’t in church on Sunday. May God give you clarity, strength and peace.



  15. Deb on June 9, 2015 at 10:08 pm

    Oh everyone — thank you, your words are cherished.



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