Editor’s note: For Mother’s Day, some of our library staff invited their moms to be guest writers for DBRL Next. This final article in our Mother’s Day series was written by Public Services librarian Lauren’s mom, who is struggling with her own mother’s failing health. 

Two months ago, my brother called to let me know that our mother was in the hospital because of a stroke. My mother is 92, but the fear of losing her brought instant tears and a feeling of panic. She is now residing at a skilled nursing facility, using a walker, unable to remember how to use a remote device or a call button, and her mind is living in the ’50s and ’60s. My mother wants to return to a home that is no longer there and questions why old friends and family don’t come to visit. When told that they are dead, tears come. But two hours later she does not remember these conversations. Her reality is very different from that of her children.

I, too, would like to live in my mother’s past, when her mind was sharp and her body was always on the move. She raised five children, became a widow at 40, ran several businesses and was always volunteering to help others out. She was my Brownie troop and Girl Scout troop leader, exposed me to classical music, introduced me to Gilbert and Sullivan and supported my love of reading and education. Mother put up with — and at times enjoyed — dogs, cats, gophers, chipmunks, snakes, squirrels, rabbits, fish, birds, horned toads and a prairie dog that I added to our home. She did not question my judgment in getting her a skunk for her birthday.
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