Day 141

The roses have bloomed all along the fence. So beautiful to be home. So nice to eat a burger in the backyard.




Barb lent me her Kodak so I could take some CT photos today. Mom wasn't strong enough to go out, so I went out to get her ice cream and I got a glance at the ocean, as well. It was blue enough to see Long Island across the Sound. There were people in boats and people walking. The temperature was up over 80, lovely. Mom ate her ice cream, but she didn't have any real push today.

I left and drove home around 2:20, hitting Hartford just as traffic began to head north. It took me longer than usual and I had to blare the music to keep from getting depressed. When I got here Geoff was waiting to tell me that Mom had an infection. She'd been in pain and not told me.

Both of my sisters are with her tonight. They got her antibiotics. I know she didn't tell me so I wouldn't interrupt my life and stay. She knew others would be around. She was so excited that Margie was coming.



The other thing is that Dori did not leave Mom's side today, I should've known something was really up. He rode around on her walker, he sat at her feet and hung out by her chair during her nap. He is a prince among cats. He is her steed.


I am so grateful to be home. I am so grateful to have a home to come to.



DAY 140
May 20, 2010


This day started at 5:30 a.m. It started in the fog. I woke up remembering that I had forgotten my agenda and notes for my workshop at the college and I couldn’t get into the building in time to retrieve them so I had to recreate it from scratch. I did it, I had it so well placed in my mind that I managed to do it.
Off I went through the fog, joining the morning traffic, headed south in the fog. I hit bumper to bumper traffic about 6 miles from Hartford and I thought I had 15 more minutes to make it on time. The truth is, the fog had lifted by Connecticut and it was a gorgeous day, and although I think there are too many bad drivers on the road, I was able to groove to a little Erin MCKewen. And I wasn’t at all late, because I wasn’t really do until 9:30, not 9:00. So all went well, I got to use the bathroom and drink some water and join the group of over 50 people. I survived.




The woman who hired me took me and her colleague out to lunch afterwards at the Brainard Airport restaurant. We sat outside and watched planes land and take off. It was a sweet time with interesting women, and my burger was great.





Then I came to Mom’s. Earl was waiting for me at the door. His face was up against the window. It felt nice to be wanted by the cats. Mom was here and we were excited about seeing each other. I haven’t been down in almost 3 weeks. After4 months of driving down once a week, I needed the break. We caught up. I cooked some dinner, we did some crossword puzzle and we talked about a good way to share this project at the end. Mom believes that it should be in a show and not in a book, that a book isn’t as interactive as a gallery show. But a gallery show needs to be more concise. A book would allow for more pictures to be seen. And maybe there is more than one way to show it; the slideshow of weather shots, the Coop Kids show and the 365 Day Project. These are all possible ways to share this experience.
We’ll have to see. Tonight I’ll sleep on the couch. I’ll sleep well, this day has been too long. Tomorrow I can’t take pictures until I return to Greenfield in the afternoon because my battery died. It usually dies on Friday. Oh well…. I’ll have to figure out something. Meanwhile, sleep is necessary.