Little Notes Everywhere
written by: Lisa H. Owens
@LisaHOwens
I am hungry. Did I eat?
I go to the kitchen.
I ask my daughter.
She said I’d had hard-boiled eggs with toast;
But if I was hungry, she would fix me a snack.
I nod and move to sit on the sofa, where I will wait.
I go to the kitchen.
A familiar lady is fixing cheddar cheese on crackers.
“That looks good,” I say.
“It is for you,” the lady answers.
“I like cheese on crackers. Cheddar is my favorite. How did you know?”
“I am your daughter. I know the things that are your favorite,” she smiles sweetly.
“Your smile reminds me of George. Where is George? I will share my snack with him.”
She doesn’t answer, continuing to slice the cheddar thin, like George and I like.
I go to sit on the sofa to wait.
I go to the kitchen.
“It was so nice of you to come and visit me,” I say to a lady making cheese and crackers.
“Mama, go wash your hands. Your snack is ready,” the lady says as she carries the snack on a tray to the sofa, setting it down on the coffee table.
I go into the half bath just off the entry-way.
My tiny bag containing lipstick and George’s wedding band lies partially open on the vanity. I wonder why George is not wearing his ring.
I unzip the bag and lay it back, fully open. I spy little squares of yellow paper just under George’s ring.
I lift the one on top. It is a note in my handwriting.
George is in heaven now.
Then I remember as I unfold and read one note after the other. Little notes everywhere. My life becomes clear.
I go to sit on the sofa to wait.
I see a tray with cheese and crackers on the coffee table. I hope the cheese is cheddar. I will share my snack with George. Cheddar is our favorite.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
Inspired by my mother’s battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
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