Rant #3,089: Mother, Mother

Finally, I have some good news to report to everyone.

Tomorrow afternoon, my family and I are taking my mother out to dinner to celebrate her birthday …

Her 92nd birthday.

Yes, she has dementia, and yes, she is not as spry as she used to be … but she is doing about as well as one can do at this age with her brain not as sharp as it once was.

It has forced an adjustment for all of us, but considering everything, my mother is doing quite well.

After taking a number of tests, my mom’s neurologist has told us that her dementia is age related, and while it can be mitigated by taking the proper medicine each and every day, there really isn’t much more we, she—or anyone—can do about it.

At this point in her life, she has her moments, she has times where she appears to be living in another galaxy … but there are just as many times that she is right where she should be, and she talks as if she was maybe 29, and not 92.

Anyone dealing with someone with dementia knows exactly what I am talking about.

My mom has her good days and bad days, and sometimes, the up-and-down nature of this thing can be very perplexing.

One day you feel like you are in a “Who’s On First” world when you talk to her, and then the very next day, you know that you are in 2023 and she is as sharp as she was when she was half her current age.

Happily, my mother has her family around her, and she also has two aides who help her for a couple of hours a day.

She seems to be happy, although there are days she has admitted to me that she does not know what is happening to her.

Her short term memory is almost non-existent, but she does remember a lot of stuff in the distant past, like from decades ago.

Ask her what day of the week it is, and she has no clue.

Ask her about an incident that happened 80 years ago, and she tells you about it like it happened yesterday.

But even with the dementia, her vital signs are still very good, and she still has that vigor for life.

And my family and I are going to celebrate that life on Saturday.

She said she wanted to go to the Outback restaurant—an eatery that she and my father always enjoyed going to—and that is where we will be taking her and celebrating her big day.

It should be a lot of fun, and we are all looking forward to it.

My mother was born in 1931 in Manhattan, grew up in Brooklyn, and she met my father on a blind date.

They were married in early 1956, and I came around more than a year later in 1957.

With their growing family, they moved to Queens, had another kid—my sister, who was born in 1959--and we were a Queens family until the summer of 1971, when we moved to Long Island.

My parents made life easier for my sister and I, and they were with us through all of our ups, and all of our downs.

My father died a few years ago, and my mother still helps us with our ups and downs, and even though she is frail in both body and mind, when we need her, she is there to help us navigate through whatever is ailing us.

She is a mother, a grandmother to four boys and one girl, and maybe one day, she will be a great grandmother.

But whatever the case, this Brooklyn girl has lived a full life, and even at age 92m, there is still plenty more life, and still more good things for her to experience.

I, personally, could not be happier or prouder of my mom, and I hope that she knows that … I am sure that she does.

So happy 92nd birthday to my mother, and many, many more!

As I mentioned the other day, I have to bring my car into the Kia dealer early Monday morning for a recall upgrade, so I will not be speaking to you on that day.

So have a great weekend, and I will speak to you again on Tuesday …

With all the details of my mom’s birthday celebration!