Your Baby is Okay – Poem
Your Baby is Okay
By Author – Mary Ellen Main
Once again we have another touching poem submitted by one of our community members. Thank May Ellen Main for your poetry submission. It truly highlights what goes through our minds as we care for others. You’ve done a beautiful job showing us how you have explored lessons learned through the comfort of a baby.
At first, it disturbed me when I realized
she didn’t know who I was.
“Mother, it’s me. Your daughter. Leslie.”
She’d smile as if to say, “That’s nice, whoever you are.”
It only got worse as the days passed.
And though I never got used to it I started to recognize
that was her for now,
even though she didn’t recognize me.
She began to fret about “the children.”
She kept asking, “Why is the baby crying? Is the baby okay?”
So I found a doll for her. She’d hold the doll and talk to it.
The baby was okay.
As Mother was comforted knowing the baby was okay, I began to find comfort.
Maybe I was her baby now.
As she regressed to a time when she’d been a young mother, I got to see
that nurturing I’d always known but had been too young to recall.
As time passed, I realized she’d become the little girl with her dolly.
As she cradled her baby, I saw the spark of nurturing that had begun in her
from the time she’d been a child–something I’d have had no way of knowing
if I hadn’t gone through this time with her.
Her days drew to a close and she became less responsive.
I counted it a privilege to sit beside her bed and hold her hand.
Sometimes she would fret, looking at me for some answer. Finally, with words barely audible,
carried on the lightest breath, she’d ask, “Is the baby okay?”
My face touched hers as I drew close. “Oh, yes. The baby is okay.” She sighed
and drifted off to sleep. Mother to daughter, sister to sister, daughter to mother, I wondered
if she ever dreamed about me and who I was in her dreams.
I’d wanted her to know me, but, instead, I got to know her in ways I never thought possible.
“Yes, Mother . . . your baby is okay.”
About the Author – Mary Ellen Main
Your Baby is Okay was inspired by watching Mary Ellen’s friend go through taking care of her mother as her mother’s Alzheimer’s progressed. She hopes the poem can encourage others going through the same situation.
Click Below to Watch this Interview
Click Below to Listen to the Interview
Our Host, Lori La Bey will be talking with Peter Berry who was diagnosed with early onset dementia at the age of fifty and Deb Bunt who is a retired family practitioner and author of Peter’s book “Slow Puncture”. In Slow Puncture, Peter tells the world what it is really like to live with a terminal condition and Deb learns to enjoy each day more fully.
Peter is now 56 years old and lives in Suffolk with wife, Teresa. Peter, a great believer of living well with dementia, cycles thousands of miles each year to demonstrate that it’s possible to do just that. Deb moved to Suffolk from London with husband, Martin, and spends most of her free time cycling with Peter.
Contact Information for Peter Berry & Deb Bunt
Websites:
https://peterberrylwa.wixsite.com/peterberry
https://www.facebook.com/DebBuntAuthor
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/Peter-Berry-Living-with-Alzheimers-343350949556323/
All Shows are Archived
Be Our Next Guest. Email us at Alzheimer’s Speaks Radio
Dementia Chats is a series of video conversations where we talk with the true experts on dementia, those living with a diagnosis. Lori La Bey, founder of Alzheimer’s Speaks facilitates a conversation and is amazed by every conversation what she learns about life with dementia. She encourages everyone not only to watch these videos, but to include those living with dementia in conversations and to listen closely to their insights. They know dementia better than anyone.
For a Complete List of Dementia Chats Videos – Click Here
Register for a Live Demo Tour of Dementia Map on Zoom!
Upcoming Public Events Lori La Bey Will Be At:
Lori La Bey Can Help Your Organization Switch To Virtual Presentations For Staff Trainings, Family Support, Perspective Clients and Support Gatherings.
See What Others Have Say About Lori La Bey
I want to echo the thanks and appreciation of my colleagues… Your presentations were movingly authentic, fully engaging and wonderfully informative. Thank you for all that you are doing, and all that you’ve done for us!
Carla Koehl, Director of Community Relations – Artis Senior Living of Lexington
“Feedback from the conference planning committee and our leadership team was extremely positive. Many attendees commented that she was one of the best speakers they had heard.”
Pat Sylvia, Director of Education & Member Development LeadingAge WA
Find A Memory Café In Your Area
2 FREE SERVICE OFFERS BELOW
We would love to here your thoughts and comments on this tip.
Downloadable Tips Below
