Inside


Another photo of my white hibiscus--a bloom in the process of unfurling, the edges a bit blurred. I was focusing on the interior of the flower; my skills and lack of a macro lens left me to choose between an inside peak or outside clarity. Perhaps one day I will have both the skill and the equipment to take the image exactly as I envision it. This weekend I am flush with family and simply enjoying everyone. My Momma is here and she looks pretty damn good for a woman who nearly died in September. She has gained 15 pounds from the 87 pounds she was when they released her from the hospital. She is still not completely smoke free, she is however earnestly trying to stop and is smoking no more than n 2-3 a day. The oxygen she uses at night seems to allow her a bit of quality rest and she looks more like herself. It has been a wonderful visit. There is one thing absent from her visit this time, and I realized this morning what it was. The racking cough that has been her constant companion these last ten years. The one that had me watching the rise and fall of her chest as she slept. The one that never allowed me to fall into a deep sleep so that I might hear her if she needed me. The one that forced her to sit in a tripod to allow more oxygen into her war weary lungs. The one that kept her home and unable to visit. The last several nights all in this house slept well, how damn cool beans is that. I am feeling very brave; today I am going to get a few family pictures, and my Momma and my sisters are just going to have to Woman Up and let me take them.