Saturday, February 12, 2011

SATURDAY MORNING

My husband's mother is in a nursing home already for more than a month now. We take turns to be with her everyday. Today I am here. I took her high up to the seventh floor where there is a roof garden. It is very nice here and suddenly I felt the urge to write about it. I have a pen, but no paper, so I write on the last empty pages in the book I am reading. The terrace is full of flower pots and vessels, most of them very large. Many different spring flowers are planted in the smaller ones and they bloom beautifully. I look around and I see pink and purple petunia, pansies with their sweet faces, red and white geranium, small lovely yellow flowers, whose name I do not know, there is blue lavender and light purple rosemary. In between and among the flowers there is a lot of greenery. In the biggest containers grow small olive trees, jasmine, hibiscus, one wall of the terrace is covered with a flaming bougainvillea. I spot roses now, red and yellow ones - and here, oh wonder, is a little orange tree and it is blossoming. I get up and pick one of its petite white flowers, oh that unique smell, like nothing else, this scent is for me the scent of the land of Israel, there is no better scent in the whole world than that of the blooming citrus fruit!
We are almost alone up here, my mother-in-law and I. There is only one old man sitting in the corner, enjoying the sun in his face, he came by himself, leaning heavily on his walker. The day is wonderful, a slight breeze blowing. The sun is not fierce, but warm and gentle, the sky a marvelous bluegreen, like my mother-in-laws eyes in her best days. She is sitting beside me in her wheelchair. She is dressed in a warm pretty lavender fleece jacket. I put the hood over her head and draped a brown big scarf around her neck, a woolen blanket is covering her fragile body. She is napping. Her head has dropped down, her face is flooded by the sun, the light smoothing her wrinkles. I am watching her and I am overcome with memories of my life with her the last thirty years. It is quiet and peaceful up here. It is not always easy to be around her in her illness, but just now it is, and I feel good near her. I close my eyes, listen to the silence and drift away...
I will keep this beautiful hour with her in a special place in my heart.

11 comments:

Dawn of LaTouchables said...

...you express yourself so beautiful--the transcending moment, the situation at hand, the beauty of nature--a great pleasure to read this!

Dawn of LaTouchables said...

I meant to say, you express yourself so 'beautifully'...

Annuk said...

Such a wonderful post, dear Yael! It really touched my heart deeply! You write so beautifully, and I'm so touched by your ability to capture the moment and the sweet, calm beauty of "little" and so meaningful things. Such a pleasure to read this wondeful post full of poetry, positiveness and love for Life. Thank you so much for sharing.
Love and hugs

Smithy said...

I am overcome with tenderness...this is a beautiful post, dear Yael. Many blessings to you and your loved ones...........xxx

zsazsazsu said...

so good to be able to stand still in this hectic world and enjoy the little things around you in such details.

Bernstein said...

Hallo Yael,
beim Lesen sind mir die Worte von Friedrich von Bodelschwingh in den Sinn gekommen. Er sagte:
Wahres Leben ist ein Lauschen des Herzens
auf die Klänge der Ewigkeit.
Wie schön, dass Du zusammen mit Deiner Schwiegermutter so einen wunderbaren besonderen Moment erleben durftest. Und noch viel schöner, dass dieser Klang tief in Deinem Herzen nachklingt.
GlG Inbar

Eva said...

Wir würden auch gern Blumen sehen, der Schnee ist zurück :-(
Du hast ein schriftstellerisches Talent! Ich bin einige Augenblicke bei dir auf der Dachterrasse gewesen. Wie wundervoll!

... said...

Beautiful post, Yael, and very touching. A pleasure to read.
Blessings to you and your loved ones!

aurorafedora said...

oh yael, i can just imagine that garden! what a joy it must be to the nursing home occupants...and their families. your mother-in-law is lucky to have you!

Jill said...

Caring for loved ones when they can no longer care for themselves is such an undertaking. It is wrought with physical, emotional, and mental stress that can seem so overwhelming. That you both experienced this moment of stillness and light, and that you paused long enough to notice it--and share it with us--is a blessing. The sunlight floodded her face, such a simple thing, but so precious. You remind us all to stop and smell the roses, whenever and wherever it is that they bloom.

Pesky Cat Designs said...

It was wonderful reading your feelings and thoughts right in the moment. The roof garden sounds amazing. So peaceful and relaxing. A perfect place to reflect on life.
Your mother-in-law is lucky to have such a loving daughter-in-law. :)