90 Year Old Mom, My Joy!

I have a great gift given me in this life! That is to have my mother for my 67 years and having the opportunity to take care of her and return some part of the gift of life she gave me. I got to see myself through someone else's eyes yesterday.

I took mom to the beauty shop and noticed that her nails needed some attention. The shop has a nail salon and I ask if I could get a file and groom some of mom's nails. I got one of those nice professional files and pulled up a chair across from mom and took time to round and smooth all her nails and then watch her admire them after I finished.

I ask mom to check my work and see if I missed any rough spots? She folded her fingers back into the palm of her hand and told me they were great. One of the ladies waiting to get her hair 'fixed' noticed my actions and commented on how well my mom was doing especially at 90 years old. I told "Pat" she had good and not so good days, but today was a good one and she really enjoyed this outing.

I finished mom's nails and could not help but look across the room at the other ladies watching me. I saw nothing but smiles. They said nothing to me except for "Pat" but I saw their confirmation on what I was doing for mom. I am a modest person and this is not my motive, but how can I not acknowledge this?

You do things in this life that you think are work, or hard, but one event like this that affirms that what you are doing is correct and an act of love. I write this to give you a keyhole view of the joy of taking care of someone who 'needs' your care.

We drove back to her home and I notice that she was looking at her newly manicured nails and feeling their smooth edges in the palm of her hand. What a tiny small act that means so much to someone else. You never know!

 Evan Jones

I'm really surprised you didn't have women at the beauty salon lining up to be next, or at least batting their eyelashes at you. The most touching detail, of course, is your mother testing her nails in the palm of her hand on the way home. Another wonderful story.