At Least I Can Read

This past weekend I made a run to the used book store to sell back some of the books my mom has read in the 18 months, there were two boxes full. While I was there I went through the mystery section trying to find more books for her to read.

My mom has been an avid reader since she retired over 15 years ago, but now it is different. With my mom’s disabilities reading is one of the few tasks that she can do by herself as long as the book isn’t too large or heavy. More and more my mom’s body is not able to perform as it once did. More and more she is dependent upon others to help her.

We don’t talk about what she is losing; we talk about what she still has. She can no longer hold a pencil so she isn’t able to do crossword puzzles that once captivated her mind, she is having more and more trouble doing jigsaw puzzles unless the pieces are larger enough for her arthritic hands to hold. She enjoys watching Wheel of Fortune and usually solves each puzzle easily. And then there are the books.

I showed her the 25 books I got for her this weekend and it was only God that she hadn’t read any of them. She was so excited and all she said was, “at least I can read”, and then we went on with what we were doing.