She lets me rub oil into her skin,
massaging it slowly into her feet
till they’re supple and warm
and the skin almost shines,
swelling gone.
She sighs in pleasure
instead of pain.
The room smells of lavender.
Lanky afternoon light
lopes through the slats
to replace the fluorescence
of the ICU.
It’s quiet.
No nurse. No doctor.
No beep to alert us her oxygen is low.
How seldom I let myself
move this slow.
I smooth her arches,
slip my fingers through her toes.
We play this little piggy goes home,
and this little piggy goes home,
and this little piggy and this little piggy
and this little piggy go whee whee whee
all the way home.
Is it strange I love this moment
in a place neither of us wants to be.
The business outside this room
will last forever.
And here we are, so alive
we slip right into the miracle.
*
Dear Friends,
thank you again for all the support, all the kind notes, all the prayers and love and healing energy. I can’t respond to them, but I read them all and let them go in … all the way in. I read mom a bunch of the notes today–and they warmed her, too. In the ICU, it seems time goes fast and healing goes slow. Mom’s improving, at last. I see a path out, albeit a long one. Wishing you all deep peace and ease in your own bodies.
“Is it strange I love this moment
in a place neither of us wants to be.”
I don’t think it strange…you are so present in this moment that you are living in grace, fully giving yourself over to the sacredness of presence.✨
I am so glad that she is healing. Blessings be.💞
i have never been so aware, friend, how sacred it is to just be present … you say it so beautifully
I think ICUs can be worlds distinct from the daily ones we inhabit; so of course time conscripts a differing set of rules. Not that time ever consistently plays by any rules.
For all the skills and abilities of Allys and Ethans, not even their ninja sorceries are able to effect the healing brought by the daughter. Some umbilici never part.
it’s true–still so connected. I knew today, when everything went sideways and they didn’t kick me out that they understood that a calming daughter presence was maybe as important as anything else in that moment
“…everything went sideways…”
Well, crap. Sideways wasn’t the direction we were expecting. Hoping Mom’s back to improving, once again.
And here we are so alive, we slip right into the miracle.(now & beyond our time) YES the miracle of your love,all loves and Divine Mother’s love!
Rosemerry my heart sings out in joy and love for you and your mum as she moves forward!!
j
thank you, Joanne, thank you ❤️❤️❤️
Such a gift to “love this moment in a place neither of us wants to be”. My heart is glad for you both. xoxo
thank you dear Jan ❤️❤️❤️
This little piggy wants healing,
this little piggy wants home
and this little piggy mothers the mother
so she never feels alone.
When a serious vigil progresses to tender child’s play, I think healing has begun, perhaps on both sides of the bed covers.
oh friend, it’s true … a little bit of play helps a lot.
Your healing love blesses us all.
Thank you, friend ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Hi Jan, I appreciate your succinct comments… they are so beautifully written! Are you a writer/ poet?
In gratitude,
Joanne
“How seldom I let myself move this slow”
I shifted into that very state while caring for my own mother twenty-years ago. Massaging hands and feet, singing and care giving in all the not so little ways.
I was awakening – slowly – in that direction before her illness, and suddenly the shift, it was palpable. And it has become an integral part of me since, a platform to work from. Such an amazing gift from such a painful situation.
Many many blessings and love for your love – both of yours – and the shift it brings to all our lives by the witnessing.
lovingly ~ Laegan
oh these strange gifts we could never ask for …
She is so blessed to have you.
I am so blessed to be her daughter ❤️❤️❤️
Oh, my gosh, love is the ultimate win-win, isn’t it?
Rosemerry, to be able to create beauty from the bad with your heartfelt words, sense the sacredness of the moment, inhabit a holy pause, and begin to see a path, a way out of sickness’s undergrowth, is a precious gift for you and your dear mother. Prayers for healing continuing.
Oh friend, thank you … i thank you for the prayers, for the thoughtful response, Joy