It’s been a long time since I’ve posted to this blog. I thought I’d start posting a bit more of some special things that happen in my life.

My mom, who is 90, is living in a retirement complex in their Assisted Living section. I’m fortunate that she’s only 15 minutes away so I get to see several times a week. On Sundays my son and I have dinner with her in the “fancy” dinning room.

But tonight was a special night. There was a special dinner in the Assisted Living dinning room (they have their own) and the families were invited to help celebrated Assisted Living Week. It was nice to see the place that mom eats each day. I had seen it when we toured the placed, but this was the first time I got to share a meal with her there. Interestingly, the lady who sits at the table with her everyday is also named Sandra. I said, “Well that makes it easy to remember.”

After we had a nice dinner we went across to the living room for AL and were treated to a sing-along with the SONflower group. The ladies had come together through their love of singing and joining in with the weekly sing-alongs. We say things such as “My Country Tis of Thee,” “Jesus Love Me,” “Amazing Grace,” and others. It had been ages since I’d experienced something like that and I had a tear in my eye as I could hear my mom singing along loud and clear.

I can’t help but feel that my dad, who passed away in June, just before they were to move into the new place, was up there watching us. One of the last things he said to me, as he pointed a finger at my mom, was, “You take care of her.” I promised my dad I would.

Everything, no matter how small, that I do with my mom to create a cherished memory is precious.