I was trying to decide what to write about tonight. I guess I could begin both and keep them in a draft. I was deciding between another update on the HTPC or to write something about my mother.

I’ll write about my mother first. As some of you who are close to me know, my mother had a pretty severe stroke back on 11/03/2006. She had a hemorrhagic stroke which is pretty bad. Her stroke occurred where the brain stem meets the spinal cord. She almost died. She was with some friend for dinner when it happened. They called an ambulance while I was on my way which ended up being the life-saving factor. They did emergency surgery on here. She was weak in the right side of her body and lost her balance, ability to speak normally, and can’t walk. She is 59 years old and the cause of her stroke most certainly appears to be hypertension.

Fast forward to today and I can’t believe how well she is doing. I took her to Walmart last night to help her buy some things she needed, (she is living at nice assisted living place). We had a lot of fun together. That’s the sort of thing I have been missing. It has only been recently that my Mom wanted her cell phone. I used to talk to her on my way home from work or when I was in the car, (don’t worry, I alway use a hands-free headset). I couldn’t talk to her unless I went to see her. Now, she’s called me twice and it was really nice to talk with her. We had a pretty nice time at Walmart, too. We shopped and looked at the clearance isles. I let her by herself while I went to grab some diapers for the kids. I watched her from further away to make sure she was alright. She was and it was great to see her enjoy herself while we were out.

When we left, the sky was clear and the moon was so bright. This was the first time my Mom had been out like that since her stroke happened. Sometimes, it is hard to imagine that she’s had to put her life on hold while she continues to get better. I am really proud of her and I enjoy taking care of her. I didn’t think I had it in me to do something like this and it isn’t easy. But it’s new and I don’t begrudge it.

We got back to her apartment and she was planning on eating some oranges. I hugged and kissed her and left. It was fun but I could tell she was tired. I worry about her a lot, but after we spend time like that together, I always feel better about where she is going.