On Seeing a Woman in a Nursing Home Mourn the Loss of Her Dolly

When my body has failed and my brain has dimmed, do not take away my baby doll because it is unseemly for an adult of such advanced age to play with a child's toy, but let me clutch its softness and warmth to my bosom as once I did my children.  Their visits, no matter how frequent, will seem few and far between, but my dolly will always be in my arms to comfort me.

Night Life

Visited Dad yesterday morning and noticed his current roommate's name was off the door and his bed was all made up. Checking with an aide, I learned Mr. Laurentzen had died over the weekend.

That makes four of them--George the klepto, Joe who never talked, the army hero whose wife and daughter visited, and now the music lover. Daughter's theory is that, during the night, her grandfather has been sucking a vital life force out of them. I think she's been reading too much Twilight. On the other hand, it is odd that Dad, at 95, has outlasted FOUR of them, three of them younger than he..

Maybe he's determined to have a private room.