When my mom was in the hospital for six months in critical condition, I harped at the nurses for not updating her blackboard every day with the day and time and who was her nurse in charge. I think I was sort of mental about it because it just made me think if they couldn’t tell her what day it was then they had no hope for her. I started my visits with updating my mother on where she was, how long she had been there, what day and time it was, and what the weather was outside. It became this rote thing that I did just automatically.
When Tin came home and I was waking him up and putting him on the changing table I began with the day, the date, the time and the weather almost every day.
At one gruesome point in my mother’s hospital stay, I walked in and she took my fingers and put them in her mouth and started sucking on them. I recoiled in horror inside but left my fingers in her mouth and just stared at her. This morning as Tin put his fingers in my mouth for me to suck on, I wondered what in the world goes through most people’s minds.
I decided to quit with the weather report and instead greet Tin with other news from now on.