She doesn't see too much anymore, I would say pretty close to 100% blind these days. And, she can't walk much farther than from her kitchen to the bedroom. Some days she seems to be all there and some days it seems that the conversations are far from the present time and the confusion of her mind has taken over. We still talk, I still listen and just offer the 'uh-huh's' and 'oh that's nice's' that she wants to hear. She loves to hear about my children and I wish that they could hear her tell the stories that she used to tell me about Maggie Magee. I used to call her just to hear a story and I can remember spending the night with her and listening to her stories.
Some days she is really nice to be around and other days it is tough. But, you just have to keep going as Mom says - we are all she has - and I believe that is true. She looks forward to Wednesdays when my Mom goes over to take her shopping even though she doesn't leave the apartment too much. Just a face at the door brightens her day. I am not sure how many of those days she has left so we just take it one day at a time and enjoy the little moments as much as we can. Today was a joy, a moment to celebrate a generation and recognize a woman that has lived almost a century! Happy Birthday Jean-O, we love you!
