Tuesday Midday

Mum was much more responsive this morning - she was opening her eyes and we got glimmers of recognition. She is showing some moments of strength in her weakness, with a tight grip of the hand or the occasional attempt to sit up. When her friend Joanne from Prince George showed up, however, her face lit up and she smiled - very happy to see a friendly face from a while back! This was the first glimpse of her peronsality that had shown up for a while. Another came when she was lying with one finger above her lip: I said, "You're looking pensive", and she did a hand-swat while raising her eyebrows. There is more of her present than we can realize, and we are making an effort to continue to speak as if she hears everything, because we think she does.

Some of the synchronicity has been incredible. A lovely fellow emailed Mum just yesterday to say he had an ashtray that had been made by William Rowan (whose biography Mum wrote) that he wanted to give to her. We had a quick email exchange and he dropped it off at the hospice for us today - he was of course upset that she is as poorly as she is, but happy to have made the connection with us. Apparently he had taken over Rowan's office and he had left him his ashtray and pipe - and now they are in Mum's room! Thanks, George!

Vicky will be here this afternoon; Mark is still undecided about heading back to Vancouver for his dental surgery Wednesday morning to fix a tooth that started disintegrating a couple of weeks ago (it all happens at once, doesn't it).