COMING TOGETHER--43

Now that it is Monday, Phil, my brother, is coming over to give me a few books. My mother suspects the worst. She fears Phil and his wife are getting a divorce, or that Phil wants her to move out of her apartment.

Well, nothing like that happened. Phil had some time to kill before a funeral so he gave me three Christian books, talked about himself for an hour, and then left.

Obviously Mom likes to function on the basis of her fears, of which there are many.

She has been eating a lot of ice cream when I am not at home. Still, she is eating well enough so that no ill effects show. I read 3 chapters of Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad to her. She likes that since reading is now a struggle.

I went to a barbecue place for dinner. Mom said repeatedly how much food I bought; it didn't seem like so much but when you're already full of ice cream maybe she was stuffed. One thing about it, she is staying awake longer than usual. I had been telling her that it isn't normal for someone to sleep as much as she does. Maybe that shook her enough to want to stay awake, or maybe the ice cream did it. Can't really tell.

She doesn't walk for exercise any more, she doesn't ride her stationary bicycle any more.

Anyway, as I write this it is 10pm at night. She is in her bed with the tv on, and I am sleepy.

This is Tuesday. Mom got up on her own, a bit earlier than usual. I had a breakfast sandwich from McDonalds, which she likes. She is awake, in her chair watching tv. She is not doing anything. She doesn't want to do anything.

I think she is depressed and probably always was. She covered her depression for years with social and church activities, but it probably was always there underneath.

I have been reading to her, and she likes that. I've been reading Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad, which is about travel. Twain went to places where my mother has been, so it is fairly interesting to her. Twain began at Gibraltar, then he went to Marseilles in France. Mom has been to Marseilles and through France. So this is going well.

I am having trouble finding things for us to do, and today is no exception. I don't have any email to answer, I can't write an article for Duckworks until I receive a book in the mail Thursday or Friday.