I’ve been wandering around inside this holiday trying to find my spiritual compass. It doesn’t help when Mom, on being told it’s Chanukah, says in a snippy voice, “I don’t care.” As an antidote to the sadness I was feeling after my visit today, I went to the local mall. The stores were all decorated with Chanukah themes. It was a lively place to be. I was excited to bump into a friend I hadn’t seen in a while. Judy told me about her recent visit to her father in his senior re

“It’s my daughter, Miriam,” she said as I entered the ward. “Where were you?” How grateful I felt to be identified by Mom. I sat down in the seat that the nurse was vacating. She’d been feeding Mom her 10:00 snack—applesauce and milky coffee laced with a laxative—and Mom was eager to hug and kiss me. We spoke for a while as Mom told me about getting her hair coiffed; about the seven minutes that she’d waited (I’m not sure for what); how she’d gone shopping but couldn’t find t