“I have headaches.  I’m tired.”

(Heather: Where do you feel bad?)

“All over.  I feel bad all over.  I just keep breathing and that makes me feel better.”

“I’m sick and tired of living!”

(Mother, its O.K.  I can easily clean it up and we can easily get another tray of food from the kitchen.  Accidents happen all the time to everybody.)

“I don’t know what’s the matter with me. (I am) crying all the time. I feel so sad being here. I hate to be such a sad sack. I don’t know why I’m crying now.  Heather, you are the most adjusted of all the gang. You don’t seem to be upset at all.  I’m upset all the time.”

“I want to go home. I want to go to my bed. Right now. If you get a chance, Heather. Hurry up. I want to get into my bed. I want to listen to you talk. I want to get in bed.”

(Mother, the nurses want you to stay up, so when you go to bed you will be really tired and not wake up in the night.)

(Samantha, the staff member listened outside Mother’s room and she said Mother seemed O.K. and stopped crying.)

“I just want to be quiet.”

“No, I’ll, I’ll.  This is comfortable.”

(Heather: Mother, why are you crying?)

“The tomcats.  They came in on our line. When they came in, I cried right away.  I was pretty close to them.  I thought they were going to bite me. I was afraid of tomcats.”

(Heather: That must have been scary when you were a child. Mother, do you know why you are sad now?)

“I’m not sad.  I’m happy when I think of all the things I remember –running in the field–running and kicking up in the air as high as I could.”

(Obviously, Audrey’s lack of her own mobility was what she longed for the most as she aged.)

(A large shopping bag was on Audrey’s tray table.)

“We’re first in line. We will get shot, Heather.”

(Heather: No, Mother. That is just Deardra’s and my shopping bags. These bags are so beautiful that Deardra likes to leave them with you. With your artistic eye you appreciate beauty.

(Another example of Audrey continuing to converse with me but often would not find the correct words to express her thoughts.)

“Elegance” (Audrey read out loud the elegantly scripted word, Elegance, on the print.)

“Do you have any candy? I want my candy put on my tongue.”

(Heather:  No, I do not have any, but I’ll write it down and go to the store when I leave.)

“I want it now. I’m so sorry.  I didn’t want you to write it down. I’m so sorry.”

(That’s O.K. Mother.  I want to get the candy for you and the nurse told me of the best candy for you to have.)

“Heather, I want you to remember to keep our family peaceable. It has to be worked on.  I want you to make sure everybody stays friendly with each other.  I know you know and understand how things can get. It is sad to see how it can get.  You got to keep them all in line.”