I just got off the phone with mother… and boy, what a difference a month makes in her outlook on life! 

In the past month, she’s finished her vaccinations.  She’s returned to some of her monthly meetings and groups.  They are planning together for future events, a simple act that they have put off indefinitely for the past year.  She can attend church services again—and go out to lunch with friends afterwards as well. 

Throw in copious amounts of sunshine, temperatures more like summer than the Artic chill that sat on their region for most of the winter and just feeling better overall, and I feel like my real mom is back.  I’m sad that she was absent for a while, but my silver lining is remembering how much I love this special person!