I got my love of reading honestly – it was a gift from my
mother. My mother and books are forever intertwined in my memories; I can’t
remember a time when mama didn’t have a book with her. As mama aged, her love
affair with books continued. Even when it was no longer easy for she and daddy
to get to the bookstore or library, mama read. She had a large collection of
books and never minded revisiting the friends that she had met among their
pages.
I accompanied my parents on many trips to numerous doctors,
especially over the last couple of years. As we sat in the many look-alike
waiting rooms, mama would fill the time telling me (and anyone else who would
listen) about the storylines of her favorite books. Her descriptions were
detailed and enthusiastic. It was obvious how much her books – and the
characters that inhabited them – meant to her.
Up until a few months ago, my mother read several books a
week. However, as so often happens with couples who have been together many
years, after my father’s death my mother’s health began to decline – both mentally
and physically. It was scary to learn that mama could no longer walk, but not
unexpected; her mobility had been severely limited for many years. What little mobility
mama had maintained for so long was mostly a sheer act of will and without
daddy, she lost that will. It was unnerving to learn that mama had almost
stopped eating; daddy did the same thing a couple of months before his death.
However, the one change that truly struck terror into my heart was when I
learned that mama had stopped reading. Mama not reading was almost the
equivalent of her not breathing. At that point, I tried to steal myself for the
loss of my mother only a few short months after my father. But, she held on.
Eventually, mama started eating again. (Apparently, I gave
her The Look. Had I known that was all it would take, I would have done it
sooner.) Once mama began eating a little better, she also bounced back somewhat
mentally as well. During one of our phone calls, she was excited to tell me
that she was reading again. I breathed a big sigh of relief and lost some of
the sensation of impending doom. Shortly after that call, mama was admitted to
the hospital and my husband and I made a trip to see her. It was then that I
learned that mama’s “reading” consisted mostly of just re-reading the same
couple of pages, but it was progress.
During her hospital stay, as I sat by her side, I watched
mama pick up her book, “read” for a minute or two and put it back down. This
process was repeated many times and I don’t know that she ever turned a page.
It was as I watched her sleep, her book open on her chest, that I realized,
that it wasn’t just a book – it was a friend. A friend whose presence brought
my mama comfort. She finds peace in holding a book and looking at the words it
contains, even if she can no longer focus on them or understand them as well as
she once did. Mama has been through many changes in the last few months,
changes over which she has had no control. She lost the love of her life and
then had to leave what had been her home for the last six years. Yet, through
all of the changes and loss, mama’s books - her friends - are still with her
and their stories haven’t changed.
Mama and her friend. |
As a writer, it can be hard not to base
what I think of as my level of “success” solely on the number of reviews that
my books receive. The fact is, most readers
will never leave a review. Out of the hundreds of books that mama has read, I
doubt that she has even reviewed one. But, what is more important? The fact
that she never left a review or the fact that even now, in the twilight of her
life, she holds onto her books. (My sister says that mama takes at least one
book with her everywhere, even if they are just going into another room.) Why
does she cling to her paperback friends? Because the stories mattered to her.
And, when it comes right down to it, isn’t that the best reward that I can have – the
honor of writing the stories of my heart in the hopes that someday they might touch
someone else?
What stories have touched your heart?
Until next month, happy reading!
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Amazon Author Page: http://amazon.com/author/isabellanorse
I have known you and your family for over 40 years. What a loving tribute to the lady who was my teacher and came to be my friend. She helped instill a love of reading in me and several others, I'm sure. I love you!!! Lynda
ReplyDeleteI love you, too!
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