Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – April 22, 2004

Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – April 22, 2004

 Mary 6

Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – April 22, 2004 – In late July 1989, my mother suffered a stroke, just as I was about to leave for a four week vacation in France. Mary’s doctor said that she might rally again, as she had on a number of prior occasions, or she could remain in a semi-comatose state comatose state and then pass away.

Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – April 21, 2004

Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – April 21, 2004

Mary 5

Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – April 21, 2004 – My father was as devoted a person as anyone I have ever known. I don’t think I possess the heart it would take to make twice-a-day visits for years, to a loved one who was deteriorating in front of my eyes. I like to think that if I’d lived in Owen Sound I would have visited frequently, but I’m not sure.

Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – April 20, 2004

Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – April 20, 2004

Mary 4

Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – April 20, 2004 – My next trip to Owen Sound in the fall of 1986 was to help my father move Mary back to the hospital. She was in fine form when I got to her room. People who suffer from Alzheimer’s Disease lose their inhibitions as the disease progresses.  

Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – April 19, 2004

Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – April 19, 2004

Mary 3

Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – April 19, 2004 – Life goes on and it was determined after an eight week stay at the hospital that my mother was functioning well enough to live in a nursing home. My father decided on a location on the east side of town, close to our family home where he could visit easily and often.

Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – April 18, 2004

 Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – April 18, 2004

Mary 2

Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – April 18, 2004 – My telephone rang at work one morning in July. It was my father calling to tell me that the hospital had a bed available for my mother, and asking me if I would come with him when he took her to the long term care ward. I left the next day for home. I turned into our familiar driveway and stopped my car at the bottom of the lane. I sat there looking up at my family home and trying to filter through the memories that flooded my mind.

Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – April 17, 2004

 Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – April 17, 2004

Mary 1

Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – April 17, 2004 – I was having tea with my mother one afternoon when I was about seventeen years old. I was past the ‘summer of my rebellious teenage angst’ at fifteen and my ‘Sauble Beach summer’ of sixteen. I realized that my parents, while not as cool as the parents of some of my friends, were smart, kind and generous. I also knew they trusted me.

Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – April 16, 2004

Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – April 16, 2004

I’m Not Alone

Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – April 16, 2004 – I had an extremely busy day with client showings, errands, banking, some grocery shopping and a trip to my favourite gift haunt – “Felicia’s on the Danforth. She carries scarves, sweaters, handbags, sunglasses and a healthy supply of my number one weakness – sterling silver jewellery. She carries different jewellery lines , but is also a skilled artisan. She makes a lot of her own one-of-a-kind pieces.