there she is!

at last. it feels as though mom is emmerging.

on friday, i arrived late after work to find her sitting upright in a chair. her eyes were clear and her cheeks rosy as she chatted on the phone with her brother david in canada. seeing her there, looking like she did, made me realize how "off" she's looked over the past couple of months. i don't think i consciously knew or identified it at the time, but i do remember thinking she seemed tired and drawn even though she seamed to have most of her usual stamina. now she honestly appears younger and fresher.

yesterday, she settled into a wheel chair and we took her outside to the beautiful outdoor rock garden just outside the hospital entrance. i was tempted to zip around the hospital corners and corridors to get her there, but she's still battling some naseua, so i held myself back.

taking her out for a stroll reminded me of the time when my mexian step grandmother, Linda, took my stroke-immoboilized grandpa for a wheelchair stroll outside of the nursing home. when it came time for linda to take him back inside, grandpa stubbornly put his feet down and resisted the push of the wheels. he couldn't say it verbally, but his message was clear--don't take me back in there. mom, of course, is in a slightly different position. but i wondered if that thought was running through her head.

valarie