November - 2022

She Ain't Heavy, She's My Mother

Jane

Nov 9, 2022

Little pieces of chicken and ketchup

7.11.22 I decided to record what I do most days. Mum's not eating much these days. But tiny bits of chicken smeared with lots of ketchup seems to work. She'll wave me away, implying she's had enough. But a few mounters later she's forgotten she's had enough, and will have another bite full. Slowly but surely... at the moment at least. Tomorrow is another day.

Jane

Nov 7, 2022

‘The Little Children of Israel’.

1.8.2022 Mum has 6 great grandchildren, all of whom live in israel. Yasmin and Liad have 2 kids - Alma, nearly 9, and Yonatan, who was born in April. Sunny and Amir have 4 kids, Mia, 12, twins Evie and Ben who are 10, and 4-year-old Eitan. In August this year Sunny and family made the long haul to Oz specifically to visit mum. Around that time, Covid was rampant at the facility so I had brought mum back home for a few weeks. I was happy that she would still be here when Sunny

Jane

Nov 7, 2022

'Life Goes On...'

Ronny, my ex, has always felt very close to mum and dad. In 2016, when dad was 95 and fading away, Ronny informed me that he wants to say goodbye to him. That’s not a simple task because Ronny lives in Israel and would need to make the long flight to Australia - and just for three days. Ronny did fly here and spent precious moments with dad before he died. My two daughters, Sunny and Yasmin, their husbands and kids also live in Israel. My two sons, Gil and Yasha, live here, i

Mum is 97 or maybe 98, according to the Lodz Ghetto records. Till now, she has lived a rich and vibrant life, despite living through the war and its aftermath. In 2017, after dad died, she made the decision to move in with me. Instead of feeling burdened, I embraced the change and the opportunity to care for her.

These posts capture mum’s precious last years living with me in my home - a ‘share home’ - with other family members and housemates - who all support, appreciate and love having her around.

Many of us are not familiar or get a chance to be involved in the lives of the very old. I wanted to documents the years with mum as a record for the generations to come, (and others who might be interested) that reveal the daily joys and challenges of caring for a loved one with dementia.

As an afterthought, we know that mum hasn’t always been old. In these posts I also aim to include the heart-felt and awe inspiring stories from her earlier years.

MY PERFECT MAN

My Man in Melbourne

An Ode to a Human Painting Machine

Ketubot/Marriage Contracts

An Ode to a Human Painting Machine

janeKormanART

She Ain't Heavy, She's My Mother