Mom, Comfort Reading, and Amazingly Good News
My visit two weeks ago was a sad one compared to my visit in March. Mom has declined sharply. Her grasp on reality is not consistent, she is rarely willing to eat, and she hasn't gotten out of bed for a long time. But when she was awake and lucid, she was happy to see me, and I enjoyed reading a few chapters of Busman's Honeymoon to her. I didn't try to do special voices for everyone, but I had fun with a speech in which Harriet imitates Bunter, and that made Mom laugh. I was able to help with moving Mom from rehab back to the assisted living place, plus I got to see all my siblings and Mom was very glad to see all of us together (in her room, for a little while, until she got tired).
When my plane landed in Houston, I had a whole bunch of text messages from my siblings back and forth with the latest (not good) news about Mom, but the one that broke me was from Mary, who said, "[Amedia], you were here when she needed you most." I sat in the airport bawling and called TODS just to hear his voice.
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One of the ways in which I coped while I was there was to reread a novel on AO3 that I had gobbled down a year or so ago and wanted to take time to reread. So I did that on my phone, and also opened a Notes document to write down comments for each chapter, which I later posted to AO3. I sooooo enjoyed the novel the second time through--it definitely rewarded rereading--and leaving a comment on every chapter was happy-making for me as well as a way to thank the author. It wasn't exactly Guardian fanfic, but an AU in which I could easily picture the main actors, and tremendously enjoyable: Peculiar Circumstances by sakana17.
BTW, I did something similar a while back with an excellent Guardian novel written by tehfanglyfish with illustrations by highlynerdy: Anywhere Beside You Is A Place That I'll Call Home. It's another one that rewards rereading, and there's something very soothing about it: I can just disappear into that novel and be in a happy place.
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Meanwhile, the sad news about Mom has been balanced by some incredibly happy news from Metherion and Daughter. They are both in their late thirties and have been struggling with infertility since they got married. They've been very excited recently to be trying a new technique (IUI) but I will honestly say that I was astonished when they called a few weeks ago to say that it worked on the first try!!! Mind you, it's early days, and a lot can happen over the next eight months, but TODS and I are over the moon.
Metherion and Daughter wanted to tell Grandma (my mom) on Mother's Day, and my siblings were eager to help, but Mom didn't have enough lucid time that day. Mary finally let them know yesterday that Grandma was up for a conversation, so they called Mary's cell phone, which she held up to Grandma's ear, and they told her the news, and she was thrilled. I'm so glad she was well enough to hear and understand that!!!
When my plane landed in Houston, I had a whole bunch of text messages from my siblings back and forth with the latest (not good) news about Mom, but the one that broke me was from Mary, who said, "[Amedia], you were here when she needed you most." I sat in the airport bawling and called TODS just to hear his voice.
******
One of the ways in which I coped while I was there was to reread a novel on AO3 that I had gobbled down a year or so ago and wanted to take time to reread. So I did that on my phone, and also opened a Notes document to write down comments for each chapter, which I later posted to AO3. I sooooo enjoyed the novel the second time through--it definitely rewarded rereading--and leaving a comment on every chapter was happy-making for me as well as a way to thank the author. It wasn't exactly Guardian fanfic, but an AU in which I could easily picture the main actors, and tremendously enjoyable: Peculiar Circumstances by sakana17.
BTW, I did something similar a while back with an excellent Guardian novel written by tehfanglyfish with illustrations by highlynerdy: Anywhere Beside You Is A Place That I'll Call Home. It's another one that rewards rereading, and there's something very soothing about it: I can just disappear into that novel and be in a happy place.
******
Meanwhile, the sad news about Mom has been balanced by some incredibly happy news from Metherion and Daughter. They are both in their late thirties and have been struggling with infertility since they got married. They've been very excited recently to be trying a new technique (IUI) but I will honestly say that I was astonished when they called a few weeks ago to say that it worked on the first try!!! Mind you, it's early days, and a lot can happen over the next eight months, but TODS and I are over the moon.
Metherion and Daughter wanted to tell Grandma (my mom) on Mother's Day, and my siblings were eager to help, but Mom didn't have enough lucid time that day. Mary finally let them know yesterday that Grandma was up for a conversation, so they called Mary's cell phone, which she held up to Grandma's ear, and they told her the news, and she was thrilled. I'm so glad she was well enough to hear and understand that!!!