Writing Between the Lines!

So this week there's been a few breaks in my writing. I've been working on a new proposal, a series and I've just received edits back on the first book in a Harlequin Intrigue mini-series that will be out this fall. I'm pretty excited about it and there'll be more in future blogs. But, right now, all of it, including American Armor, took a bit of a back seat to my MIL or Ma D (If you're new to my blog - Ma D is my mother-in-law or MIL, sometimes affectionately known as Ma D.)

Ma D has had a big week. There's been appointments, a birthday (which involved piano playing, of course! And,  at which she's a whiz) - all sorts of events packed into one week. The piano playing was fun but before we got to that, we had the appointment. Appointments are always a bit of a challenge. Especially because Ma D is used to being in charge. It frustrates her not to remember when and why she is going somewhere and that makes most appointments, especially medical, a bit of a challenge. To keep the frustration level down on both sides, after this recurring appointment is over, it's tradition to get her settled in the truck before returning to make the next appointment and settle the account. When I get back, she's not paying much attention to me but fixated on the street ahead of us. I shut the door and she looks over with a serious expression:

"Seventy-Five vehicles drove down this road and they're predominantly white." 

Nowadays, Ma D focuses on the little details; the child tagging behind his mother, the pink leash on the dog and vehicles - one of her faves. She's big on the colour of vehicles. I think she's always on the lookout for her fave type and colour - a yellow jeep. She doesn't mention it very much anymore but I can still hear her voice from years ago, excitedly pointing one out. Now, I can picture her in it with the wind lifting the sprouts of short white-tinged, grey hair in the wind. I can see the smile on her face. I imagine she might even speed, just a bit. Unfortunately, the driving days are long behind her.

But this isn't time for regrets - we're heading for coffee. It's an event that Ma D loves. So we head out, I don't check the seatbelt situation as, even now, Ma D is always good about buckling in but apparently the counting of cars took precedence. For the seatbelt reminder is dinging like crazy.

I look over and say, "Mum, you don't have your seatbelt on."

She gives me a puzzled look as she grabs the strap over her shoulder. 

"Yes, I do," she replies.

"I don't know. The seatbelt dinger is still going off." I can't really give my best attention to the situation without pulling over, something I'm now considering. I can see out of the corner of my eye that she's fumbling around trying to figure the seatbelt situation out. 

More fumbling.

"Oh my. I guess I don't have it on. I put the purse around my neck instead."

Every hour we spend together, every outing, Ma D teaches me that there's more than one way to live a life. And dementia sucks but it's not big enough to suck the fun out of a day. She plows through with her usual steely determination. With that in mind, there's no way I can ever complain about having a bad day. For she reminded me once again that dementia doesn't rule. While, she might be relegated to the passenger seat, she's not taking a backseat - not yet.

Ryshia
www.ryshiakennie.com

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