101 Bubbles in a Tub

This isn't as weird as it seems. My mom invited the kids and I over for lunch with aunt Helen on Friday. My mother also helped Helen take a bath in her fancy new tub - which Helen thought was the greatest thing of all times. My dad played with the kids in the backyard - which so amazingly color filled and beautiful. It never ceases to amaze me that my father's gardens survive all summer without him tending to them daily - I need to pay better attention to what he's doing because he obviously has the touch.

Anyway the bath was another good example of how my mother is always teaching me - she washed Helen's back with a washcloth and then rubbed her arms and legs with good smelling lotion. This is not something I would think to do. This is clearly someone elses' job. But no one was doing it. She's alone in her house and there are somethings that get forgotten by her, by everyone. Many elderly people never have any physical contact with people and Helen so clearly appreciated and thrived with my mother's attention. She laughed, and laughed and the most amazing thing was that after a nice hot lunch and a warm bath, not only did she look better, but she seemed so much more clear.

It is completely amazing to me that a 101 year old woman can physically do all of the things that Helen can do - She got up the stairs without real help as well as getting in and out of the tub. I have a hard time getting in and out of the tub and I'm 32. She's struggling mentally - but she is still such a gift and a pleasure to be around. More later...