Friday, September 21, 2007

What remains ...

Sweetie and I went tonight to visit a friend in the nursing home. Passed a resident in a wheelchair who was clutching a doll to Her chest.

Even at this end stage of life, with Her body weak and sick and Her mental faculties almost gone, something of the Woman still remained in Her, some of the ancient instinct, some of the memory perhaps of when She was a young Mother in the prime of life, with a doting husband close at hand and a lifetime still in front of Her and a living baby tenderly held in Her arms.

6 comments:

BraveHeart said...

perhaps a childood memory.
Did you have a doll or a bear when you were young? or a blanket to hold on to?

Eastcoastdweller said...

Ela, I had a Winnie the Pooh bear and a stuffed pink pig, but no blanket, if I recall correctly.

BraveHeart said...

I had the old type of bear, stuffed with small woodchips ( forgot the name for it).
He had lots of patches. One day he was unrepairable, according to my parents, and they insisted on bying me a new one.
It took them long time to convince me and I have no idea how they did it. I would rather have this old friend and keep the patchwork going.

Have a nice day, You and Sweetie

Nadiyya said...

ahhhh... yes. Been there. I mean, been working in a nursing home like the one you describe and seen that situation. A lot of the women there who were ANxious and restless would calm down with a doll or a teddy.

the strongest moments in a womans life, are the ones that will stay until the end.

Amar Mandair said...

I've seen something similar before and it brought tears to my eyes...what people tend to forget is that this woman who now sits in the wheelchair is not just a woman in a wheelchair but a woman with a past. A past that can be as comparable to ones own or even greater. You never know who you may have just walked passed.

Eastcoastdweller said...

Nadiyyah, Empress: Thank You for Your poignant and profound comments.

She could have been a 40-year schoolteacher, or Rosie the Riveter or a cabaret singer or a lawyer who helped break the glass ceiling for Women.