“Get dressed Mummy”. Get in the bath…please!”
“But I had one last night: I have one every night”.
Her fantasy she may or may not believe, but I doubt it.
That night after much cajoling, she steps into a warm bath,
And surrenders to me, upset only that others may be laughing at her.
Left alone together, the warm soapy water soaks into her now sagging skin
Made leathery by so many years of sun bathing.
As I help free her skin of hardened oils and accumulated soil,
I persuade her to manage her most intimate areas and recesses.
But as I shampoo her lank and nicotine-stained hair,
Her head cupped in my hands, I experience a singular loving connection,
A deep intimacy akin to that between mother and child, but in reverse.
What a daunting challenge and yet profound privilege to be there for her in that way.
What an expression of deep, unconditional love and trust.
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