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“My Mother is Coming to Live With Me” A Memoir by Lynne Cheson

I flew to Florida in the middle of  January, 2006  for my mother’s  uterine cancer operation.  Although the operation was considered a success,  it was  obvious that she wouldn’t be able to take care of herself much longer.  I never suggested she should think about an assisted living facility or senior citizen hotel.  Instead I started preparations for her to move in with me.  Mind you, she was not thrilled about the decision.  She loved Florida, her friends and the  weekly poker game.  Mom had been independent all her life, but after her second husband’s death, she was more than content to live alone.  She insisted upon it. (…)

Then things began to change.  She found it hard to get around.  Her friends drove her where ever she wanted to go, but the long walk shopping the aisles in Publix became too much for her.  The same with WalMart and  CVS.  She fell at home once and crawled to a telephone for help. Then she caused a small fire in her kitchen.  After much consideration, she put her condo up for sale.

When her place in Plantation sold, I flew to Florida once again. this time to take her home to New Jersey.  During the time I brought my mother to live with me on July 8, 2006, I found her  more frail than I had remembered, seven months ago. I watched her slowly maneuver with her Rolls Royce walker, and noticed she had to stop and rest  more before.

A few days after the move I realized  it was imperative for me to write down everything that happened  between us each day, for reasons that will unfold.  My Mother is Coming to Live With Me is the results of that unforgettable, at times funny, somewhat turbulent, always poignant and unfortunately dark  memoir I have written covering that period of time my mother and I had together.

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