Free money!

Just one of the libraries. 

I would have to say Mom has entered a new phase of stability (knock on wood). No pleadings, lately, no outbursts. Tonight, when I said I had to leave, she thanked me kindly for coming. I was moved. It is better when I visit in the evening, because the time ahead of her is short and usually filled with a shower and changing and the blessedness of bed.

She's not always all there. She said tonight, "Are we going to the high school? I wanna go and find Nels." When I can work up the gumption to say, "Nels died," she takes it as a matter of fact.

We read mail and her old letters. One Easter, when the girls "looked adorable" in sailor outfits, dresses, and hats, all of it sewed by her mother,  she reported, "Jon got some pants." These were no doubt Sears or Kresge pants. I exist in the letters like furniture, to be moved here and there -- but then she had two girls 11 months apart, and then another three years later, so she was pretty busy, and, of course, those girls were cuties.

She did report, in one little league game, I struck out twice. And in another, I hit a triple and scored. I was surprised to find that she had even noticed these things. Probably my mood, either up or down, made them memorable.

When I brought her out to the penalty box tonight, as I got ready to go, one of the nurses said, "I'll never forget the time Mary was passing out money. Twenty dollar bills, ten dollar bills. I said, 'Mary you can't do that.' And she said, 'You can't tell me what I can do with my money.' "

So the nurse collected all the money she had given out. This explains the envelope containing $130 I was given by a social worker a few weeks ago.

No more money for momma.

I was pretty excited about this picture when I took it, but, meh.