The unexpected call.

The first words I heard were, "Mark, your Mom would like to talk with you." The words were not from my Dad, sister, or brother, but from Anise, my Mom's caregiver. I was shocked. As you may recall, my Mom has stage 4 brain cancer and is in hospice at a local nursing home. Even though she is aware of all that has occurred in the past 5 months, she is no longer able to have the conversations we have all come to know and love when we call home or visit her. You can probably understand why I was surprised by the phone call.

We had a nice talk, short, but still wonderful just the same for about 90 seconds. I then spoke with Anise again, and thanked her for making this call happen.

You might be thinking today's blog is all about my Mom, brain cancer, or phone calls...no, it's about Anise. This woman has a gift; the gift of being able to care for someone who is not a family member or someone she has known for many years. But someone who needs her care, her compassion, her trust. Sure she is paid to do this, she works for a company called "Martha's Hands," but in the end you can't pay for people like Anise. She is priceless. Anise has the ability to make people feel good again; make them feel like they have regained some of the daily functions that have been taken away because of a situation they had no control over, moreover she makes them feel comfortable.

Most of us live in fear of our parents or some special loved one becoming ill and in need of daily assistance. This is what Anise does best. She has the ability to walk into a difficult situation for a family and make them feel that all is going to be better. Because she is there to help---to provide the "helping hands." (At least for a while as the disease my Mom has an end result and it's not always good.)

After talking with my Mom, Anise came back on the phone and said, "We are going to play BINGO so we need to leave." My Mom has always loved BINGO and what a special way to spend her day. (I told my Mom to win big!)

The picture above was taken at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. I can not tell you what building it was on the Mall, but when I saw it I knew it was cool and something I wanted to capture in a photo. In today's world, phone booths are a thing of the past. Retro. Graffiti laden. Barren. Cellphones, iphones, and BlackBerry's on the other hand are now found in pockets, purses and hands of millions of American's. It's hard to believe that my kids, and my kid's kids, will visit the Smithsonian and see this exhibit and ask, "What's that?" At the same time they will be texting, tweeting, and talking on their phones---letting their friends know they are bored or missing them and can't wait to get back home. I like this picture, it reminds me of the good ol' days.

I miss talking with my Mom. I miss hearing about stocks, the Cardinals, and all that I have known to grow and love about her and the conversations we have had. My Mom has changed, but she is still the same woman I have known for all of these years; she is just in the middle rounds of the fight of her life. Lucky for our family we have Anise in our corner as she can provide what we need---the care and compassion of someone who has the talent to transfer love and compassion to a complete stranger. This only lasts for a few minutes because once you have met her, and seen her in action, she becomes a member of the family. Anise is an extension of my Mom, what better compliment can you say about someone who less than 4 months ago was a stranger you would pass by on the street.

Thank you Anise.

Thanks for stopping by and meeting Anise.