The third person I sent my mom rant to was Amy, an old family friend (readers should review “The Shirt” for information on Amy). When we moved my mother, we couldn’t keep her in our home town anymore—she’s about 40 minutes away, closer to Baltimore, in the town where Amy lives, and it took me awhile to tell Amy. When I did, she wrote back: “OMG! [Facility] is on my street, two blocks from my house! I can’t believe your mom is there. And I’m so sorry to hear all the craziness you are going through. I’m sure it would be difficult anytime. But in the middle of a pandemic. Wow!”
I was shocked that someone we know—someone my mother has known since Amy was a baby—lives two blocks away.
Alison wanted to send Mom’s caretakers some baked goods, both as a thank you (in general, and because my mother can be difficult) and as a way to let them know that we aren’t ignoring my mother, we are not negligent, no matter how it appears on the ground. We have awareness! My sister practically has a second full-time job working on this! (Ooops, ranting again.) So we asked for the name of a bakery in the neighborhood that might deliver, and Amy eventually wrote back: “I picked up a bunch of baked goods at a delicious local place, and Greg and I went down to [facility] to drop them off, along with a card for the staff, which I signed from you two. I also dropped off some sunflowers and a card for your mom, which I signed from me and Greg. They were very sweet! The woman who answered the door knows your mom. And as we were talking, your mom’s aid was on her way out for the day, so we stopped and talked to her and gave her some of the baked goods. She was delightful and really seems to care about your mom.”
This, as you can imagine, has been a godsend. I mean, what an angel Amy is.
(But have we been able to reach Mom since? No.)
Oh, how wonderful! Amy does indeed sound like an angel. And what a treat for me to be able to read The Shirt again too.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you haven't been able to reach your mother since. I hope you can soon. COVID does make it so much harder.
I agree. And I love The Shirt--what a fabulous story.
ReplyDeleteI'm also sorry to hear about all the craziness--it just doesn't seem like you're getting any break from it. (Although it sounds like at least your mother is in a decent place with staff who care. After hearing the horror stories that emerged during the pandemic about the conditions at some long-term care homes here, that is a blessing.)