SILVER LINING

It’s been a while. A year and a half, actually, since I’ve shared a blog post or written anything publicly. What’s been going on?
 
The short answer: Life has gotten in the way. The long answer is a bit more complicated.
 
Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, my mother passed away after a short illness—and I was shattered. My mother, who was my best friend, my mentor, and someone I looked up to for advice, left me empty with her death. In the days, weeks, and months after her passing, I felt lost and unanchored.

​It is hard to believe that during the time of Covid-19, one could find a silver lining. But I did. With the pile of restrictions that comes with a pandemic, I did not and would not consider in-patient hospice care for my mother’s final weeks—I couldn’t bear the thought of not being able to comfort her at this time. As some of you may know, it was not long ago that I was still working as a registered nurse—and once a registered nurse, always a registered nurse—so, I was determined to provide my mother with in-home hospice care instead of leaving her in strange hands. I won’t lie, there is nothing harder to do than to give your own mother the magic drug, morphine—yet despite it all, I am grateful that she took her last breaths in my arms, crossing over into Heaven as the powerful and charismatic soul that she was. 

​Writing is my outlet; it’s where I also find comfort. Now, when all I’m left with are memories, I’m back at my keyboard, writing again. Only this time, I’m writing to tell her story and bring honor to her life. But more than that, I’m writing to expose what happened at the beginning of this year, her unintended involvement in Sacha Baron Cohen’s new Borat Subsequent Moviefilm mockumentary.
 
I hate that the scandal Cohen created for his film spoiled the memories my family and I have of our mother. If we could only go back in time and remember her without the Cohen drama, I could focus on my grief. I’ll save my words on this subject for now, but know that I’m back at the keyboard—and my next work will be to shed light on the facts.

Michelle