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Hospital and holiday silence, solitude and simplicity

12/20/2010

4 Comments

 
Picture
    The silence, solitude and simplicity that I brought the cottage is holding me in good stead as I sit with my mom in the hospital waiting for everyone to figure out what’s the next best plan for her. She lives in the silence of deafness and has always created the solitude that she needs. At the moment her choice is simple: “I want to go back to where I live.”
     It has just occurred to me that I am learning about the 3S’s through the situations of others.For the past  24 hours I've been gathering stories.
     To begin with, there is the woman who cleans the floors. She came here ten years ago with her husband and one of her children, leaving most of her family behind. “But it’s okay,” she tells me, “and I will get back there someday.
        Then there is the man across the hall, waiting to be released so he can go back to the shelter where he lives. They're giving him a good lunch first. “It’s going to be cold,” he’s told.
         What about the aide who is going to New Jersey to see an aunt after work? She has her own life. Once again I am amazed how involved I have become in my immediate situation. 
         And then there’s the little Italian woman, walking the hall, getting ready to go home. She stops and I listen to her entire story. My choice. I could have withdrawn into my own silence. But not to worry, it’s there for me whenever I want it.    
          It’s up to each of us to slip off occasionally to our own cottage by the sea and find the silence, solitude and simplicity that we need this holiday season.  No easy task.



4 Comments
Sarah
12/21/2010 04:18:07 am

Dear Bobbi-I am with you in spirit as I am on the couch next to my daughter who is under the weather and you are the daughter nursing your mother. My mom always had such wonderful things to say about your mom...it is hard to believe that life continues for 100 years. I am not yet half that age and it seems that I have lived a long a full life in my 42 years. To live 58 more...more than I have already lived...seems unfathomable. When did you lose your father? How did you, your mother, (any siblings?) cope with this loss?

It was 4 years ago today when my mother crossed over. I remember some details like it was yesterday and others were not as important and do not have an easy recall spot in my brain. I am very much looking forward to a week of peace and quiet. I have few commitments except to myself.

I have started my own blog but have had litle time to reflect. It is interesting that when I feel the need for silence solitude and serenity, I have little time for it and the inverse I am quite certain is also true! It took me two weeks to gets my nook area prepared and now I all I need is the time to be with me!

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Sarah
12/21/2010 04:20:03 am

Wishing your mom good health and recovery! She is an inspiration!

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9/4/2012 04:44:04 pm

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