Blood Moon 2008

It’s appropriate that at this time of the Blood Moon I’ll be flying home to check on the health of my mother. It’s also her 66th birthday, “Happy B-Day Mom!” For almost two years she’s been suffering from a debilitating nerve pain running down into her arm. It became so bad that she finally had a surgical procedure in September called Cervical Laminoplasty. Basically, they opened up the top of her spinal column like a hinged door and inserted some spacers to relieve pressure on nerve clusters. Ick, and ouch. Fortunately the procedure went smoothly and my mother is healing from the surgery quickly. Unfortunately it didn’t change her level of nerve pain. At her age, it’s really taking its toll.

My awareness of what happens to people when they enter their “golden years” has increased in the last year. I can’t say I’m cozy with what I’ve seen. At first I felt panic when I pondered what was to become of those I love and eventually to me. Everything is a process I guess, and I had to become aware of these things so I could grow and find peace in what is to be. So at this time of the Blood Moon I’m mulling over what it means to enter “the decline” and how, when it’s my turn, I can do so gracefully.