Della

Thoughtful gray eyes peer down to the written page

Straining to see peripherally as macular degeneration has claimed sight on the entire floor of her nursing home

She smiles a tilted soft smile lined with creased skin and years of using that muscle

Her nose drips, so a hanky is conveniently tucked into her sweater sleeve at the wrist

Do you use foundation? She asks. Mine gets all ribbed in these old cheeks, but I like to bring some colour to my face

This face

Look at this face

You’d be surprised what it has seen

My husband’s green eyes on our wedding day

My daughter’s disappointment in marriage and miscarriage

My nephew’s overdose

My dogs sleeping peacefully

My cat in my arms the day I had to put her down

I loved that cat

Mrs. was her name. Just Mrs.

I could never come up with anything more clever

My dear friends have passed away, and my new friends are just acquaintances, really

They mostly all live here if you can call this living

When one gets sick, we all catch it

When feeding time arrives, we all suffer through carrots, and more carrots. Hell, they even put carrots in the spaghetti sauce. Can you imagine?

It sucks to get old

93, I am

I feel like 75, but my legs don’t work so well anymore. I am sure I could still drive though

The grandkids put the kiboshes to that

Liberty and freedom

It’s what we all want

It’s what we all need

Just to be

To live