My mother has discovered, much to her surprise, that she's not dead yet.

Upon realizing that a)she's still alive, and b)life has continued to go on,

she has found a pressing need to re-involve herself in life.

Family came to visit - her brother and his wife, her son and his family -

and she was delighted to reconnect, to love, to experience.

What are you saying over there? she wants to know. Let me come where I can listen.

Don't let me sleep so long, she tells me. Wake me up in a little while so I don't sleep so long.

Feeling the urgency of participation, she wanders, gets up and has to sit down again quickly, as her knees buckle.

We have to really stay on our toes, to get to her before she hurts herself.

Turns out that this is the heart-breaking part of watching her die.