[I wrote the following after taking Mom to visit her sisters in September.]
It is a perfect September day.
The gas tank is full, cash in my pocket.
Mom and I set out for the two-hour drive to
Elmwood Skilled Nursing Facility
In Claremont, New Hampshire,
Her twin sister, Midge Riviezzo's new home.
We stop in Newport to pick up her sister Florence
And arrive at Elmwood at 1:30, a half hour early.
Sisters Anna and Ruth are in Uncle Benny's car
Waiting for us.
We find Midge sitting in the day room where a
Game of bingo has just begun.
She shuffles toward the private visiting area
Grasping the handles of her walker with wheels.
They sit at the round table.
I stand and lean against a desk.
I listen and watch these five sisters.
At first they converse as a group,
But soon, side conversations take over.
There are a lot of "Huh?'s" and
Plenty of repeating of words
And sentences amidst raucous laughter.
I think of the years from 1960 to 1970
When I played at their houses with my cousins.
Midge gainfully employed at Goodyear.
Flossie working for the eye doctor in Lebanon.
Ruth working as an LPN at the nursing home.
Anna as a dietician at the hospital.
Mom doing private home health care.
They were busy moms, each with multiple children.
They worked hard and did their best.
Now they are in the final decades of their lives.
And they still have each other.
September, 2011
