I was seventy-four.
Not fourteen.
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Two days earlier, I’d slipped on my back steps while carrying a bag of birdseed.
And until that fall, I drove myself wherever I pleased, cooked my own meals, paid my own bills, and spent four afternoons a week reminding my grandson Larry that multiplication did not become optional just because he disliked seven.
Until that fall, I drove myself wherever I pleased.
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I also knew my hip hurt.
I knew I needed help for a little while.
What I didn’t know was why my daughter wouldn’t tell me where she was taking me.
***
An hour later, she turned into a landscaped driveway.
My daughter wouldn’t tell me where she was taking me.
The sign out front answered the question.
I read it twice.
“Melissa.”
“It’s temporary, Mom.”
“You brought me to a nursing home?”
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“It’s a care facility.”