For many reasons, I won’t go into, my Mum and I have never experienced a happy mother/daughter relationship. That was until two years ago when she moved from Hertfordshire into a Residential Care Home around the corner from me, on the Sussex Coast. She was 89 and I was 57.
Slowly, with love, care and attention from the Home, a poorly, frail and difficult old lady was transformed into a different person. Mum attends all the activities and goes out once a week in the mini-bus for a day trip – usually to Devil’s Dyke near Brighton. You might not think this unusual but I am talking about a woman who in the previous 10 years had become a virtual recluse, refusing to go out or have visitors who were not family.
I call in on a regular basis after work to sit with her when she has her tea. I take her out in her wheelchair down to the seafront, we have tea and cake in the café and chat. In two years we have built a wonderful mother/daughter relationship. The one I have always wanted and am so glad I have had this opportunity. It would have been awful had she died two years ago. I would never have known what a lovely happy old lady my Mum could be.
Today is Mother’s Day. I bought her a plant and a card and was ready to go and visit her this afternoon, when I received a call from the Home. They have a tummy bug outbreak and have closed their doors to all visitors to contain any illness within the Home. I feel really sad that I can’t see her today and tell her how much I love her.
At least I can do that soon, there are those who have lost their Mum, so I know how blessed I am to still have her with me.
PS I know the A to Z Challenge is Monday to Saturday, this is Sunday and my blog is a daily jotting, so I am using a ‘literary’ licence.