“Heather, come here. You always listened to me and obeyed my commands.  Good. Come here right now. You sit on my lap so they can’t wheel me away from you.”

(Another conversation with Mother): “I’m doing fine. I feel rather sharp. I’m taking care of myself.”

(Audrey was looking at the booklets of her writing and art work that I had compiled and set on her tray table): “That looks good!”

(Another conversation with Mother later in the day): “Do you want some candy?  I don’t want any. Do you?”

(Later in the day a conversation with Mother while we were sitting under a tree and feeling this beautiful breeze, I asked her, “What do you like best about Kent Regency?”):  “You.”

(I read some of her memoirs to her and she was listening very intently and seemed amused.  Previously, she had told me that she was amused by her responses.)

(Situation not recorded but now remembered [date not recorded]:  Mother and I were waiting in a Doctor’s office for the van to pick us up.  There was a mix up and we waited an hour or more. Mother began to cry.  The only way I could keep Mother from crying was to softly read aloud her biography that was in Glimpses of the Past: Morning Conversations with Audrey and the poem,Summer, she wrote .  I  recited this continually and continuously until the office had realized their mistake and the van came for us. While we were getting on the van, a middle aged man came over to me and said “I just have to tell you, that is a wonderful thing you are doing for your mother…”.)

(An insight into ageism:  To change the above repetitions leading to monotony, I started to read the Constitution which always interested Mother.  My reciting the Constitution did not interest Mother and she started to cry, so I gladly went back to reciting her biography and poems she wrote.)

Melissa Ann MacDonald

Audrey’s granddaughter

Friday, May 13, 2005

Graduation Ceremony

Received her Master’s Degree

in Community Counseling

with a certificate

Substance Abuse and Addiction Counseling

The College of New Jersey

(Douglas drove Mother, Lisa, Meagan and Julie to the show.  Mother was awake though 90% of the show.)

“Hannah has a nice voice!”

(They got back to Kent Regency around 10:30 PM.  Mother was pretty sleepy by then, says Doug.)

(On Tuesday morning, Mother ate a great breakfast. She loves French toast and syrup and also ate quite a bit of Cream of Wheat. When lunch came, she said:  “I’m full” even before I started to feed her.  Instead she ate a couple of oatmeal cookies that I made using her favorite recipe. I baked them in California and carried them on the plane to Rhode Island for her.

Later in the day, Jean Martin came to visit Mother and she suggested I purchase sun catchers for Audrey’s window in place of the outside bird feeders that Mother loved. Later in the day while Audrey was sleeping, I went out and purchased sun catchers of bird shapes.

Tuesday evening, Mother, Margaret–another Kent Regency resident–and I had a poetry reading session.  Mother recited The Owl and the Pussy Cat with much help from me. She seemed concerned that she was doing so badly.  I explained to her that we all have days when we are not as sharp as other days.)

“I feel terrible.”

(Heather:  Does, your back hurt, Mother?)  “No, I just feel miserable everywhere.”

(Later that day, I asked Mother if she wanted to lie down.)   “I’m fine.”

(Sunday, date not recorded)

“Your tongue fits in your mouth good.”  (Heather: Thank you, Mother.  I do have a pretty smile.  My teeth are really pretty.  I am so glad I put braces on them when I was young. I was told by doing that I could keep my teeth for the rest of my life.)

(Monday, date not recorded)

(Heather:  How come you are so sweet?”)  “Oh dear, I don’t know.”

(Heather: A penny for your thoughts?)  “I wonder how much my thoughts are worth?”

(Heather: Another penny for your thoughts?)  “What are my thoughts? “When chapman billies leave the street, and drouthy thursty neebors neebors meet, [reciting Robert Burns’ Tam O’Shanter as Audrey was getting out of bed]. “Dawn, I’m hurting.”

“Cows in the pasture!  Have you called Mother?”

(Mother reverted back to when she was a child on the farm. She became very concerned that the cows were in the pasture or the horse(s) were out of the barn. Her tremendous concern and her need to get help with the animals let me realize how different life on the farm was from life today. As late as the early twentieth century if the horse(s) and cow(s) were gone, there would be no food source, no transportation and no way for the farmer to make a living. What a different childhood my mother had from the children today.)

“What’s his name?”

(Vickie said “It starts with D.”)  “DOUGLAS!” (Audrey shouted with glee.)

(Douglas and Mother strolled around the outside of the facility for some time.)

(Mother was drawing in the drawing pad that Doug brought with him.

Later in the day, Douglas drove Mother and Deardra to visit Luane (née Cahoon) McDonald and her mother, Anna Jane (née Spencer) Cahoon.”)

(On Sunday, Mother was weepy pretty much all day long.  Several times she asked where her sister-in-law Marjorie MacDonald was. After several hours of weeping:  “Things have happened all wrong.”

(Doug took Mother for a two-hour drive.)

(Doug brought Mother back to her room after eating.  Mother started weeping and crying.  Vaughn came by with Mark, Jr.(born 9-17-2004).  Mother immediately started smiling.)