“I think back to that first example. I remember unloading the plants Chris and I had picked out from Home Depot (clematis, honeysuckle, black-eyed Susan, chrysanthemum), some of which would attract the hummingbirds [my mother] enjoyed watching. I’d also bought two birdbaths. I hid those in the garage because they were her Easter gift. I then went inside to call downstairs, but her door was locked.
She must have seen the plants on the deck—maybe when she walked [her dog] or took out her trash—and assumed we’d ignored or forgotten her.
I texted: We couldn’t fit everything in the car in one trip. We still planned to take you today.
I repeated this in a letter that I left in her private entryway: I’m sorry I didn’t explain our plans first. We still planned to take you to Home Depot.
It’s easy to say how ridiculous she was being, but it’s harder, and almost unutterably heartbreaking, to see Home Depot’s significance through her point of view. For Chris and me, it was another errand. She looked forward to the trip all week.”