All dressed up

While helping my mom dress after her shower and she looked at the clothes laid out for her and she said, “Oh this is pretty. Is that for me?”
I flashed back to when I was a child and I remember how my mother loved to dress up. She took great pride on her appearance. Her hair was always done. She would set it in rollers at night, and let in curl into a pretty flip in the morning. She would get dressed and put on her makeup and bounce out to car where my sister, my brother and I would be waiting for her. My stepfather in the driver’s seat would look at her in admiration from the driver’s seat. She was beautiful.
As I look at her now in her elastic waist pants and sweat shirt, it’s hard for to imagine that this is the same person. Yet, she is the same person. To her she has not changed. She still likes to dress up, and she still feels beautiful. She loves compliments too. My mom is the only person I know that can really take a compliment. I mean if someone tells me I look nice, I would respond with, “You should have seen me earlier, I was a mess.” I can never say thanks and accept the compliment. Not Josephina. She loves compliments. I guess it’s because she knows that she is and always has been beautiful.
After getting dressed, I looked at mom and said, “You’re all dressed and you look beautiful.” Josephina says, “Thank you! I love these clothes. They are so pretty”.

I'm so tired!

Josephina says, “I am so tired” “I have been cleaning all day”. Not really. Actually I’m the one that did all the cleaning. Josephina likes it when I clean. She follows me around the house when I'm cleanings. She stands next to me and says stuff like, “Make sure you get that corner.” “’ Make sure you clean in there.” “Ok go over that again.” “That’s good.” I remember when I was a child, Mom would clean the house from top to bottom while listening her favorite Connie Francis records. She loved music and she also loved to clean. She loved to cook too. Sometimes when I’m cooking she can tells me what to add to the pot. She would say, "not too much garlic" or "add some sazon." She enjoys doing her cleaning and cooking vicariously through me. When I’m done cooking and cleaning she then says “I am so tired”.

Hugs

Hug-a-phina is giving away hugs and blessings today! She is praising God and telling me that she is feeling an over flow of love. She is full of God's love. We both had a good nights rest. We slept in today (5:30am). I made us a big breakfast. We are ready for this day!
PS. She called me sir, but I got a really big hug.

Hi Handsome

"Hi Handsome"
That's the greeting I got from mom today. OK, so I've let myself go a little. I haven't had my eyebrows done and I have a shadow mustache. I have put on some weight. I've gone up a whole pant size. I am a mess. I've been busy making sure that mom is taken care of, and I have neglected myself. Well not totally neglected. I take care of my personal hygiene, but I do it in record speed. I make sure mom gets her meals and her snacks, but I don't eat well myself. Most days I just graze, snacking on anything in sight. I am tired all the time. I would rather take a nap than groom myself. I have neglected myself into a handsome man.

We're set

Its been just a little over four months since mom and I have lived together. It took a lot of getting used to, but I feel like we're finally set. I think she has grown accustomed to being with me. We have created our own daily (sometimes nightly) routine. It took a lot of compromise (mostly on my part), but we've done it. I think she has accepted this as her home. Sure she still says that she wants to go home, but sometimes it means she wants to go to bed. Sometimes it means that she is just bored. All in all, I feel that she is mostly happy to be here. I am happy that she is here. I tell her that everyday. She loves to hear it and she says, "God bless you child."

Family

I hosted a family gathering on Saturday. We were celebrating my son's 31st birthday. I had a great time. I was happy that almost everyone was able to attend. We shared a great meal, lots of laughs, a movie, and birhday cake. We where all laughing and enjoying each others company. Mom was having a good time too. While eating dinner, mom said to no one in particular, "This is my family".

Tears

"What is this, why are you crying?" I asked. She says, "I don't know". I hug her. She says, "I feel sad". I ask "Why?" She does not know.
Mom has many faces. There's happy when she's singing and dancing. There's grumpy when she's a little mean. There's nervous when she's feeling anxious. She has many faces. I can handle all of her faces, but my heart aches when her face is sad. I wonder what is going through her mind when she is sad. She tries to explain what she's feeling, but it's all mixed up. She just cries. It want to know what makes her cry. I do not want to see her tears. I don't want her to be sad. My heart cannot take sad. I say a silent prayer while we hug. Please Lord take away my mother's sadness. Take away her tears.