HAPPY 92nd MOM

Mom was born in 1918 during the flu epidemic that killed more people then all who perished in World War One. Needless to say, Mom is a survivor. Tonight we celebrated her 92nd birthday. I decided to omit the nine candle from her cupcake, because Mom is not your average nonagenarian. She expressed no concern about the massive amounts of snow and blizzard like conditions forecast for tomorrow. After all she said, "I got to the hospital to deliver your brother during the blizzard of 1947!" She's remarkable, always has been. Happy Birthday, Mom!

LABOR OF LOVE

I remember it like it was yesterday. Forty three years ago today, my Dad who was a ship's officer died at the age of forty seven in a faraway land. My Mom was left with a mortgage, two kids and the need to find a job in a hurry. By September, Mom was teaching elementary school in the community I grew up in. At night, after correcting papers and making lesson plans I remember her sewing, knitting or needlepointing. Mom is artistic and creative. I like to think I got that gene from her. For years she knitted watch caps and donated them to an organization that distributed them to sailors. Of course she did this to remember my father. I recall the day, some twenty years ago that she decided to participate in a church project--needlepointing kneelers. She wanted to do this in my father's memory and was determined that it depict a ship and the sea. It took her months. Because her breathing is so compromised she hasn't been inside the church in years and for me it has been even longer. Today, I went there to see if her labor of love was still there. It is.

THINKING

OLD DOG, NEW TRICKS

Mom has really gotten the hang of her Christmas Kindle, so much so that she seems to be overcoming her Internet/computer trepidation. Tonight she came over for dinner and a game of Scrabble. True to form, she arrived with her completed New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle. She informed me that before we ate, she wanted to look at a crossword blog that discusses the puzzle's theme and also shows the answers. She wanted to make certain that she had it all done right. I think Mom's Christmas Kindle may have created a monster! She sure is warming up to using a Mac. Oh boy, her birthday is less than a month away.

OLD AND NEW

I write this with only minutes left in 2009 and can't help but reflect on the things that have transpired this year and wonder what 2010 holds. This past Christmas, Mom surprised me by expressing interest in a kindle, because font size could be increased. Always an avid reader at 91 she was finding her reading choices limited to large print books. Santa didn't deliver the kindle in time for Christmas, but she got it today in time for a New Year filled with all sorts of new books. If Mom can embrace technology then I know the year ahead is filled with all kinds of possibilities. With this new year comes a new decade and with it an abiding hope that the road won't be too bumpy and that the rough patches will be eased by joyful moments and memories.

PLAYING WITH LIGHT

I was fooling around with my camera's flash tonight. Momma was over for dinner and a game of Scrabble. The Scrabble game got quite competitive and Momma's glasses were knocked from the table. A lens popped out, hence the tape on the corner of her lenses! I liked the edginess of this light, but Momma wasn't thrilled with the photo. In high school when I first got interested in photograhy, my Mom was my first subject. She wasn't thrilled with his photo, but nonetheless she continues to make photo sacrifices for me!

TENACITY

This weekend I have spent trying to teach myself how to shoot video and edit it in a program called Final Cut. It is a whole new way of thinking for me. It has been a struggle. Today as I wrestled with Final Cut and berated myself for not understanding certain things, Mom was sitting by my side watching me edit. She assured me that if I persisted and was patient video shooting and editing would become easier for me. Mom, who taught hundreds of children how to read kept encouraging me to keep on trying...my own personal cheerleader. I realized that my struggle is nothing compared to what she has been through. She is out of the hospital, but she has multiple health issues and is more restricted then she was before this last hospital stay. I thought about how she has fought to live, the tenacity she has displayed throughout her life and decided that I can master video and final cut.

HOME

My Mom was discharged from the hospital today after a two week stay. She is still very weak and will need oxygen (they were adjusting the portable canister which is why it isn't in this photo). I had to shoot this picture from the hip without looking through the viewfinder... hospitals get crazy about cameras, HIPA laws and all. I almost didn't post this. Mom's expression is curious to me. She looks wary, almost frightened as she gets wheeled out of a very secure environment. She will return to her home where there will be lots of adjustments and challenges. This is a new chapter for all of us. I'm worried and a bit scared myself.

LUCKY

I got a call at 4:50am from the hospital telling me my Mom needed life threatening emergency surgery because she had several pulmonary embolisms as well as a blood clot in her leg. Of course I raced to the hospital. The doctors were brought in to do the surgery. The procedure was successful and she seems much more alert and like herself tonight. She got lucky! I figured with that kind of luck she ought to try a scratch off lottery card! She didn't get lucky with lotto, but she is lucky to be alive.

LIFELINE

As I sat with my Mom today I saw how bruised her hands and arms are from all the IVs and ports. Her fingers, the outside of her hand and her forearms (which can't be seen here) are all various shades of purple and red. Her slight hands are still full of life and strength as she clutches the tubing which brings her oxygen--her lifeline. Mom's a fighter and she's hanging in there. I wish I could give her back part of the life she has given me.

SPRING

The weather turned warm today and hit sixty degrees on Long Island. It felt like Spring and if my Mom were not in the hospital I would have landed in Tampa at noon today to cover the New York Yankees spring training. It is beginning to look like Spring in her room with some really beautiful floral arrangements. Mom's hemoglobin dropped today and they found an aortic valve problem today. Lots of questions still, not many answers.

NINETY ONE

Today was my Mom's ninety first birthday. She is still in the hospital, but we tried to make it as happy as we could.

OOB

There is nothing pleasant about a hospital stay...especially when you are along in years. The loss of independence is depressing and when you are seriously ill all sorts of thoughts run through your head. My Mom's expression says it all. The nurses who care for my Mom write goals for her on a board in her room. For days the goal has been "OOB". I finally realized that it is an acronym for out of bed. Today, Mom was able to leave her bed for a few minutes--- first time in four days. It was a small accomplishment, but I was so happy to see her sitting up. I wonder what tomorrow's goal will be.

THINKING OF MOM

Another long day at the hospital. I brought Mom some of the get well cards and birthday cards that have come to her home.I am taping them up on the hospital wall to make the room look more festive. Her next door neighbor sent some gorgeous flowers too that really brightened her spirits. She hasn't responded to the two pints of blood she received and today doctor's ordered another pint in the hopes that it would help her breathe more easily. Mom's fighting and I am praying for a miracle.

IN THE HOSPITAL

I spent the entire day at the hospital today. My Mom hasn't been feeling well the past few days and this morning when she called I could tell things were very bad. I am so spent tonight that I almost didn't post. I don't have a photo from today and I figured there was no point. However, I thought about how my Mom is the person who reminds me on each day to post. She almost always asks, "Have you got a blog for tonight?" There are times I post only because Mom doesn't want me to miss a day. So, tonight as Mom (who will be 91 in four days) rests in the hospital, fighting to breathe, I offer this photo of her from last December.

FIRESIDE SCRABBLE

I'm tired of winter. I'm sick of shoveling snow and being cold all the time. Tonight I made dinner for Mom and we spent a nice warm evening playing Scrabble in front of the fire. Mom had some real good words.. quota (ten points just for the Q) was especially good. I managed to win, but all those Sunday New York Times crosswords give Mom an unfair advantage.

THE SUNDAY TIMES CROSSWORD

It has been a ritual for as long as I can remember, Momma and The Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle. My Mom has been doing the puzzle for longer than I have been alive. Of course she does it in pen and she always finishes it---usually in less than a day. It begins on Saturday morning with a phone call in which Mom tells me her opinion of the puzzle's theme and difficulty. For those of you who live outside of the New York metropolitan area, the Sunday New York Times delivers some of their Sunday sections (including the puzzle) on Saturday to their subscribers. After the call, Mom surrounds herself with her resources: dictionary, thesaurus, Bartlett's Quotations, Maltin's movie guide and various other volumes. In the past couple of years it has become a joint effort with me "Googling" some particularly tough clues. I point out to my Mom, a former teacher, that this is really cheating. Mom chalks it up to part of the educational process. At ninety, she is learning about computers, rap music and all sorts of things from the crossword clues. And Mom is still polishing off the puzzle in a few hours. I'm beginning to think that crossword puzzles might just be the secret to her longevity.

SUNDAY SCRABBLE

After dinner tonight we got out the Scrabble board for another match. Of course, Momma the word smith was playing for blood. I watch her intensity and the relentless way she moves the tiles around on her tray, looking for another point or a better word. She is a fierce competitor. Tonight I realized that my competitive spirit comes from her. At an early age I was taught not to give up, to persevere and to do my best. She taught me to compete, but to be most competitive with myself. It is simply in the genes.

ALWAYS A TEACHER

Most schools are on vacation now, but school was in session at my house this afternoon. Always the teacher, my Mom was passing on her strawberry shortcake recipe, complete with a hands on demonstration to ladies generations younger. As I watched her in action I remembered why parents used to request that their children be in her class. She hasn't lost her touch, organized and patient a perpetual teacher. Her hands belie her years, yet despite arthritis they make a mean strawberry shortcake. Those hands diapered me, spanked me when I was bad and squeezed fresh orange juice for me each morning until I went off to college. They knitted sweaters, scarves and hats for me, dried my tears and still comfort me. If I make it to ninety, I hope I am half as good as my Mom is now.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

No, I didn't take this photo, but because it is Mother's Day I thought it was a good photo to post. My Mom was a single parent long before it was fashionable. She was widowed at 48. At the time my brother was a college freshman and I was eleven. To support her children, my Mom started teaching elementary school. But her most valuable lessons were taught at home to me about life and death, right and wrong, loyalty and determination and rising above adversity. As a child I was in awe of her. Mom is ninety now. I am still in awe of her. She continues to do things that amaze me. Her thirst for knowledge cannot be satiated and her curiosity and interest in the world around her is keen. But most importantly, school is still in session---she is still teaching me things every day. I am a very willing student.