Months after my mother passed away, I began sorting through the belongings from her room. Inside an old handbag, I found a small notebook filled with shaky writing. Most pages contained fragments\u2014names, shopping lists, and memories that no longer followed a clear order.<\/p>\n
Near the back, however, one page was perfectly readable.<\/p>\n
My mother had written about the caregiver who held her hand that final night. She called her \u201cthe kind woman with the warm voice\u201d and wrote that she felt safe whenever she was nearby. Then I saw my own name.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe thinks I don\u2019t know her anymore,\u201d Mom had written. \u201cSometimes I cannot find her name, but I always know how she makes me feel. She is my daughter, and she loves me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat on the floor and cried.<\/p>\n
For years, I had believed every confused expression meant my mother had forgotten me completely. I carried enormous guilt for placing her in professional care, even though I could no longer keep her safe at home. That notebook showed me that her memory had faded, but the feeling of being loved had remained.<\/p>\n
I contacted the caregiver and gave her a copy of the page. She cried too and told me my mother often became calmer after my visits, even when she could not explain why.<\/p>\n
Placing Mom in a nursing home had not meant abandoning her. It meant accepting help when love alone was no longer enough to meet all her needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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