Audrey Mae Spencer

(Mother was drawing in the drawing pad that Doug brought with him.

Later in the day, Douglas drove Mother and Deardra to visit Luane (née Cahoon) McDonald and her mother, Anna Jane (née Spencer) Cahoon.”)

(On Sunday, Mother was weepy pretty much all day long.  Several times she asked where her sister-in-law Marjorie MacDonald was. After several hours of weeping:  “Things have happened all wrong.”

(Doug took Mother for a two-hour drive.)

(Doug brought Mother back to her room after eating.  Mother started weeping and crying.  Vaughn came by with Mark, Jr.(born 9-17-2004).  Mother immediately started smiling.)

“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.)