I Miss My Mommy

Early Saturday evening is when my mother and I usually check in with one another. This weekend she is staying with my uncle, her baby brother, who is unfortunately suffering through advanced stages of Parkinson's Disease. I would call over there, except his illness makes his moods very unpredictable. He might think it's great to hear from me, or he might get pissed that I'm interrupting whatever they are doing together. So tonight, I feel a little twinge. Our routine is off, and I miss her.

And mentioning Parkinson's Disease and the impact it has had on my family: Rush Limbaugh, you are an asshole. Michael J. Fox was courageous in showing the ravages of his disease on that spot. The twitches, the tremors, the mood swings, the lack of control … patients attach so much shame to what they can't help. (At times the tremors are so bad that my uncle's preschool-aged grandchildren are afraid of him. Last Christmas, while trying to write out a gift tag, he suddenly was unable to control the hand that was holding the pen and accidentally "wrote" on my sweater. He was so upset, so apologetic, that it broke my heart.) To say it's an act, to say MJF shouldn't have appeared while "off his meds," was so insensitive it's as if you've lost your humanity. Shame on you. It makes me sad that this is how ugly the campaign season has become.