Friday, March 12, 2010

A Slice of Life

Memories - funny, sad, bittersweet, they all swirl together as I remember my mother. I tried to have everyone who took care of Mom keep a daily journal. They usually wrote down what she ate how her day went what her moods were when she took her meds. Sometimes when I was lucky some of the funny things that happened.

I wish now I had known more about keeping journals. Had more experience and knew more about writing than I did. I never knew what to say. Mom's caregivers would ask what I wanted. At the time I wanted to make sure everyone knew what was going on. I wanted a record of how Mom was doing.

Sometimes I felt such a deep grief. I couldn't bare to poke at the pain and examine it. I was afraid that I would lose control. Other times I just felt overwhelmed and I didn't know where to start. I didn't think I could do anymore than what I was already doing.

I was reading a couple of blogs the other day that got me thinking. The first one is the Two Writing Teachers Blog , they have issued a challenge to all their readers to write a "Slice Of Life Story" everyday for the month of March. I started late but believe it is a great challenge. I would encourage everyone to accept the challenge and discover your own insights.

In accepting my "Slice of Life" challenge I decided to focus on the here and now and to try and explore the funny perspective of my life now. I have been writing some brief entries about our newest puppy at gather.com. The first entry is Lost and Found.

I wish i had accepted a challenge like this while I was still caring for my mother.

2 comments:

Letterpress said...

Ruth,
I'm leaving you a comment here because I can't find where to comment on your "Baby" post. I'm sure it's easy, but it doesn't seem apparent.

I actually was quite drawn in by this slice on this blog--given that I just returned from my elderly parents' home and am beginning to see their lives fray a little bit at the edges. It was a difficult visit in some ways.

I was glad to read about your experience. Can I comment on this one instead?

Elizabeth
http://peninkpaper.blogspot.com

Ruth Ferris said...

Certainly you can comment here. Sorry I didn't get back to you earlier. I just discovered your comment.

My Mom has been gone several years now. I still get very emotional. This part of the journey is very bittersweet.