"I'M OKAY"

When I call her daily, after, “Hello,” the second thing I always say to my mother is, “How are you?” I always ask cheerily and with hope. Her answer is almost certainly something to the effect of, “Not good,” or “Terrible,” the Eeyore response for Winnie-the-Pooh readers. I then have to follow with words to the effect of, “Oh, what’s wrong?” or “I’m so sorry, Mom.”

To my surprise, I called earlier this week to inquire about her health that day and she responded, “Okay.”  My jaw dropped. I was speechless for a moment. That was the first time I had had a non-negative response from her since January of this year. Seriously.

My mother’s friend Pat, from Seattle, was visiting for a week. Pat was the best medicine possible. My mother was, during Pat’s visit, alert, talking, making jokes, understanding jokes, remembering things-it was amazing. Pat really brought her back to reality, to herself and to us.

Pat showed us the power of positive love.