Sunday, March 28, 2010

Oh me, Oh my..... Oh Shit.....

The month of February was such great fun. I loved having a full house - lots of people coming and going, sunny weather, a city celebrating the Olympics. The month of March meant some serious house-cleaning and the return of a quiet daily schedule.

Don't tell my mother, but I have been planning a surprise 90th birthday party for her in July. My sibs are scheduled to come to surprise her, my kidlets will be here.... I spent last week learning how to scan photos.....I decided to scan all the photos in her albums so that I could share the photos with my sibs and cousins. I also wanted to prepare some kind of presentation - a slide show or power point presentation for her party. I'd like to report that this scanning was problem-free and productive, but alas, the last 150 photos scanned (at least I thought I scanned them) have disappeared somewhere into my computer and I can't find them. I am thinking of calling in the big guns (or better yet, a friend who can help me out of this mess) to help me find these photos.

It was a lovely week of memories and discovery. I will post some photos when I am all finished (and can find the little f@#$kers) There are no photos of my mother until about the age of 20 - she grew up on an isolated homestead and there were no cameras. In her twenties, the photos start - she is dressed in stylish clothes with waved groomed hair. There is one photo of her wedding to my father....and then I found two photos of my father with other members of his army unit during World War II. He wrote a message to my mother on the back of both photos....one says "my unit darling". My mother kept these photos, even though her marriage ended with such acrimony....I was touched to see his words in his handwriting. A life-time of photos.... (dang I hope I can find them, or I will be scanning them all again soon!)

And then.....in the midst of all this planning and reverie.....cancer knocked at the door again. After a week of pain and immobility, after a few trips to the doctor and to the emergency room, we have learned my mother has cancer in her bones. Her hip has a pathological fracture from the cancer but the exact type and scope of the cancer is yet to be discerned. There is no doubt that everything in our lives changes. She is in the hospital now - tests are happening, she can't be ambulatory. Will she be able to return to her independent living? Probably not soon.....What kind of treatment will she face? It is too early to know that.

My mother's first words after the diagnosis? "Oh Shit".... I couldn't say it better than that......

2 comments:

Cheryl said...

I still have the sloth that your mom made for my daughters. She is in my prayers - Cheryl Mekarski

Anonymous said...

I would like to add that your mother and you and the family are in my thoughts and prayers.
Nora