Then she said, “I don’t even want to go to sleep because I don’t want this day to end!”
It was all clear in that one statement. It’s never too late! There’s always hope! There’s still more, and there’s always expansion! There are miracles all around us and what’s possible may be beyond our imagination, but you have to push through, stay focused and observe what other’s may not see.
It was my mother’s birthday, and I had taken her to lunch and some shopping during the day, and I planned a small family celebration the next night.
It had not only been a hard few years; her life had been a tumultuous turn of events that would have stopped the strongest of souls from believing happiness was waiting for them.
From her bitter divorce that shook our small community in the scandal to her pursuit of spiritual education at a time when it was considered quackery. She taught yoga at all the universities, hospitals, and rec departments and her students loved her. She pushed through until her body failed her.
In her 50’s, she was falling into dementia, and muscle loss that took away her ability to walk. It would be years before she was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a disease which, believe it or not, could be turned around.
It was as if she had risen from a 15-year coma. It took about 18 months from the surgery, but miraculously, after 15 years of grieving for the women she had been, I had my mom back.
Through a surgically implanted shunt in her head, she had to learn everything she missed for the past 15 years. If I hadn’t lived through helping to update her on family members, along with social and political changes, I would not have believed it.
Her husband died a few years before, and even though she was now in her late seventies, she always believed there would be more for her.
A few years later, she met a man to spend time with, and they enjoyed each other’s company, and it wasn’t long before he moved in with her, and they shared a couple of years together.
Then, she broke her hip. Coincidentally, it was the same time his health was declining as well, and as she moved to a rehab facility, he moved to a retirement home.
As she recuperated there, her friend passed away, and she started showing new signs of dementia again. It came on quickly, and once again, I felt the grief of losing her until the next few years of tightening the shunt brought her back once more.
We had yet to sell her beautiful home, and she wanted to go back, but with concern for her care, we moved her to another retirement home.
For over two years, she maintained this was temporary, and she was moving home again soon. She spoke with certainty that this was not her home, and she would find love and companionship again.
She was the bright light there, and the residents and staff all loved her! She insisted this place was not for her because they were all waiting to die and she was waiting to live!
Because of her commitment, belief, and daily messaging that this was not for her, we finally moved her to a new more beautiful facility.
We took her favorite furniture and unique art from a lifetime of spirituality and a love for nature and made her apartment more beautiful than I had imagined it would be.
I was on the way home from dinner with friends when I called her to say good night, and I hoped she enjoyed her birthday. She told me that relatives had stopped by and friends had called and it was the perfect day.
Then she said, “I don’t even want to go to sleep because I don’t want this day to end.”
She was right; miracles are all around you, but you have to believe!
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