Barbara Falconer Newhall » elderly parent http://barbarafalconernewhall.com Journalist Barbara Falconer Newhall reports from the the second half of life -- on books, writing . . . her husband, house, aging relatives and grown-up kids. Mon, 06 Feb 2012 04:59:16 +0000 en hourly 1 The Writing Room: And My (Serious) Case of the Human Condition http://barbarafalconernewhall.com/2010/05/04/the-writing-room-and-my-serious-case-of-the-human-condition/ http://barbarafalconernewhall.com/2010/05/04/the-writing-room-and-my-serious-case-of-the-human-condition/#comments Tue, 04 May 2010 18:27:14 +0000 Barbara http://barbarafalconernewhall.com/?p=4906 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Well, I missed my Friday night 11:59 p.m. deadline last week. The reason: My 92-year-old mom is still in a skilled nursing facility recovering from a broken hip. My brothers and I are stressing ourselves out trying to figure out what her next residence will be. Assisted living, great though it has been for the past couple of years, no longer suffices. She needs a memory support unit.

Peter and Emily put together a vegetarian meal for the family. Yum. Photo c 2010 B.F. Newhall

Peter and Emily put together a vegetarian meal for the family. But that was before my mother broke her hip. Photo c 2010 B.F. Newhall

Driving home the other day from just one of  countless visits to my mother at the hospital, I had to ask myself, why aren’t I writing about her? Naturally, I prefer to think about happier things – the elegant dinner Peter and his girlfriend Emily put together when they visited here in January.

But why, really, do I resist the topic of my mom and me? I’ve got plenty of time for self-examination on those drives back and forth to the hospital.

I’ll see if I can persuade myself to give the subject some thought and get back to you. 

Maybe.

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