She Taught Me Everything I Know

"She taught me everything I know." These are the words that my mother said to her doctor today as he was filling out orders for her to be admitted into an Alzheimer's Assisted Living facility. He raised his head from the riddle of questions of the required forms and looked at me and I returned a look with raised eyebrows.

I looked at Mother as she was sitting on the side of the patient bed in the small examination room, swinging her legs dangling over the sides, like a child would do and she smiled at me. My world as I knew it immediately did a 180 on me and I struggled with the imbalance of this topsy-turvy event.

This particular day was like every other monthly visit to her doctor for her routine check up, except for one thing......I'm getting ready to place her in another world of confusion. As I heard these words expressed out loud of how she sees "who I am", I had to really come to the realization that she's changed her role in her world. She wishes to no longer be the parent or is it that she wants to be in a place where she can learn more vicariously through me? Now I am her teacher, her mentor, her parent. I have become the mirror of her soul as see looks up to me, depending on me for her needs through my guidance and reassurance and security to get her through her days and nights.

Well, she will be a very hard act to follow, being such a role model of a nurturing mother and wife, a scholar and master of education. She devoted her career of 32 years teaching little ones of five years old and never once did she complain of her days. So no Mother, "You have taught me everything I know and I only hope to be able to follow in your footsteps on this journey with you."