It’s been a week of appointments. Whew. Dentist. Hair cut. Eye doctor. If your area is like where we live, if you get an appointment for something you try your darnedest to keep that appointment because scheduling them is somewhat of an accomplishment. Most places it is at least a six month wait for a regular appointment or more. So I found myself running around a great deal this week. Going from one appointment to another and from one meeting to another. But I am happy that that is done for now.
At the eye doctor today I could not help but reflect upon the last time I took my mom to her eye appointment. She was using a walker by then (reluctantly) and was in the beginnings of dementia. I had taken her before so I knew where to go and the doctor and all of that so that helped but it is always a bit daunting to be in charge of someone else’s care.
She was a little confused about why we were there but I reassured her that they just needed to check her eyes and make sure that her glasses were still doing what she needed them to do to be able to see well. I don’t think she really needed them that badly at that point post cataract surgery, but she had a low prescription and she always wore glasses so I suspect it would be difficult to not wear them.
When they examined her eyes she fretted. She couldn’t’ see all of those letters and numbers and she apologized relentlessly for not being able to answer. I tried to reassure her that she wasn’t failing anything – it was how they had to do the exam to find out how her eyesight actually was. I think the staff figured it out but it was stressful for her and it made me feel that I had not prepared her well enough but I don’t think I could have done anything differently.
When I was trying my hardest to see those darn tiny letters the other day all of that came flooding back to me and I had a kind of sad moment remembering that another Mother’s Day is approaching that I will not be able to celebrate with her. But the thing that makes me happy is knowing that our Comments for a Cause this month honors her with with donation to her beloved Copeland Oaks Library.
If you still have your momma around give her a hug for me and let her know how much she is loved. Precious time.
