This morning we ‘fell back’ retrieving the extra hour of time that we lost with Daylight Savings time last spring.  It is  interesting to me that we make such a hoopla regarding our tracking and measuring of time;  although none of it has any affect at all on the sunrise or sunset;  it’s simply an illusion of control in how we choose to apportion and measure the allotted day light hours;  which are all too scarce this time of year.

I spent my ‘extra’ hour visiting my mom at her Memory Care facility.  She was calmer and more conversational than I have seen her for several months.  While she doesn’t recognize me, she is always happy to see me.  We sat in her room and visited.  At one point she announced with a great deal of animation and gesticulating:  “that man stepped so far out onto the penny that POOF!”; to which I responded with an appropriate degree of wonder at such a thing.

I brought mom a milkshake.  Someone once asked if me if I wasn’t worried about ruining mom’s lunch… are you kidding me?  If I’m ever in her position,  I HOPE my children or grandchildren will regularly sneak me some cheesecake, for which I will gladly (if not wittingly) forego yet another serving of steamed broccoli and baked cod. Mom grew up helping to run the family dairy in Minnesota, and she has always enjoyed ice cream, milk and dairy products.  I usually bring mom a treat when I visit; and my brothers are always encouraging me to leave a large box of chocolate covered turtles, which they particularly enjoy.

I showed her pictures of her great-grandbabies in their adorable Halloween costumes.  One was a ‘scary’ cupcake and the other was a ‘scary’ strawberry.  She enjoyed the pictures and agreed that there was absolutely nothing scary about either of them.  When I commented that I played tennis recently she announced:  “oh, I love to play tennis too, but no one will play with me!”.    Despite the absurdity of the comment, it was within the context of the conversation, representing a rare moment of connection.  Also, the mental image of mom playing tennis made me smile.

All in all, an hour well spent.

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