Mother's Day Weekend

Jackie’s Dad

still selling pools at 78

on the phone with customers 

once in awhile

hard of hearing

my voice so soft

I’m not sure

he heard a word I said

very attentive

to my needs

he fed me

with shaking hands

rubbed my feet

for hours on end

chief dish and bottle washer

as soon as we finished eating

the dirty plate disappeared

into the sink or dishwasher

Uncle Gordie

Jack’s youngest brother

59 year old

retired hockey player

we woke him up

during the night

for transfers to the commode

asked a lot of questions

was so helpful

when they left on Sunday

Gordie said to me

with a tear in his eye

before this visit I liked you

now I love you

he left me

an autographed photo

that said

My hero. Stay strong

The Morris Family

On Saturday night

in a snowstorm

Jackie, Gordie, Jack and I

went to the Morris’ new home

for dinner

their four kids had a welcome sign

above the front door

when we arrived

we discovered there were

two steps into the house

Heather was thinking when I asked

they had a flat entry

but no, the two steps were there

the driveway was full of snow and mud

totally dejected

I was ready to turn back for home

Jackie’s resilience plus

Matt and Heather’s determination

figured out a way in

through the garage

frantic moving of their car

and other items in the garage

allowed Jackie to manouvre

the van into a spot

where the ramp

could unload onto one step

enabling me and

my 500 pound

power chair

to enter the house

what a beautiful home

though I only saw the first floor

after getting into the house

I needed a break

so I went upside down

in a room off the living room

but everyone followed me in there

so excited to see me

in their home

dinner was delicious

Heather fed me

with such pleasure

even though I insisted

she didn’t eat a thing

the dinner conversation

turned from baseball to hockey

Jack told old time hockey stories

about himself, the young Gordie

and their dad

the four Morris kids 10 and under

paraded through the house

with smiles on their faces

joy in their hearts

it was an amazing evening

*

the next day Jackie, Howie and I

went out for dinner

spontaneously for Mother’s Day

arriving outside

the restaurant

I rolled out of the van

who was there

but the Morris family

the kids with big smiles

Heather with kisses

Matt with a hey buddy

Karin and Jason and their kids

were there as well

more smiles and kisses

the restaurant was full of locals

I was overwhelmed with love

Candice

in the morning

Candice came into our room

in tears, exhausted from the night

to help me get to the commode

Jackie wished Candice

Happy Mother’s Day

she burst into more tears

we were all crying

Jackie gave her a big hug

I gave her some kisses

we ended up spending the day together

taking a trip to Harbor’s tree

in the Big Sky community park

by the ball fields

Candice hung a dream catcher

and Tibetan prayer flags

Buddy jumped up on the tree

as if playing with Harbor

we took a walk along the river

talked about Harbor

learned he had a Paris pen pal

a boy he met in a Moab Brewery

I looked at the river

reminiscing of my fly fishing days

when we got back to the car

I looked at Jackie and said

let’s go out for dinner

it’s Mother’s Day