My experience of my mom's health was different than my dad's. He saw my mom every day, on her good days and her worst. I never got to see the worst days because when I would come home, no matter what had been going on with her, Mom would rally.
When I came home, my mom would do her exercises. She would make cookies. She would go out to shop and eat. When I wasn't home, it took more energy than she had to make it to a doctor's appointment. When I was home, she was up for anything. Moreover, she wanted to do everything. She always asked me what I wanted to do while I was home. Go to a play? Watch the Red Wings? See a movie? It seemed to me that she wanted to make sure I had fun while I was home. I always felt like it would be too difficult for my mom, that she didn't need to entertain me, and that all I wanted was to be home with her and my dad. Looking back now, it feels like a wasted opportunity. My mom gathered up all her strength to spend quality time with me, and we hardly did any of the things she wanted.
And it also makes me wish I had been able to make it home more often. If I had been there, maybe my mom would have been able to exercise more and would have had more strength. Maybe life would have been easier on both her and my dad. Maybe it would have helped her to be healthier. I wonder what that life path would have looked like.