The Old Woman

The old woman stood  looking out the window. Her pearled knuckles gently pulled back the curtains. She blinked once then twice for she thought she saw white dandelions. What a sight to behold. A tear rolled down her wrinkled cheek as she realized it was the cateracts affecting her vision. She was 99 1/2 years old. She saw her life flash through her eyes. She was once the school girl out in the yard picking gnarled onions from the roots for that evenings dinner.

She grew up on a farm and had many chores for which there were no modern conviences. One was helping run the farm along with her 5 siblings. She was the oldest female. Her brother Paul was the oldest male. They helped feed the farm animals before walking three miles to a one room school house which went up to eighth grade. She was studious and enjoyed learning. Handwriting came easily to her. Drawing her letters over and over into perfect circlettes and curvatures. After her lesson she ran home for lunch which was a wedge of bread and potato soup taken right from the garden made with those gnarled onions. She was soon back at school, after the ringing of the bell, she and her brothers and sisters ran home, each having a chore before them. Today she was to pick cherries from the orchard. She was known as the fastest cherry picker in her town.

Those were good memories.The woman saw her childhood before her and remembered the many happy memories on the farm. Today was a hard day for her. Her vision was going and she was nearly deaf. Every time she stood up she teetered as if to fall and would catch herself. Today she sat at the window gazing out wondering how much longer she had to live. Her husband passed 20 years earlier and her children were grown with their children and their children's children. She was a great grandmother of 17. She reckoned she had lived a good long life but wondered what was left. All her friends had passed. In the nursing home her new friends seemed to pass with ease and she kept on going. She questioned the meaning of her life.

She was going down the aisle with her beloved husband. They were so happy. They rented a room and shared it with 5 other couples and a single man. The single man's room was adjacent to theirs. One night they saw him get up several times walking across their bedroom floor. They finally asked, what are you doing? He answered that there was no heat in his room so he was ironing his sheets to keep warm!.

She got a cackle out of that memory  and many more. But she was weary now . She was tired. She slowly got up and took her walker with her over to the bed to lie down. She laid down and dreamt of yellow snow. When she awoke it was dinner time. Everyone in the home went down to the lunch room for a slight sandwich and some fruit as their main dish was served at noon. She had misgivings about going because she couldn't hear her table mates. She lived in a quiet world and anyone talking to her would have to yell into her ear for her to hear them. She acquiesed to writing simple words on the paper napkins provided.

It was 7:00PM. She was tired. She lay back in her sitting chair and remembered living in her old home where she use to sit back and read after dinner effortlessly. Of course this was after dinner was done and dishes cleaned and put away. There was always a meal she was preparing. No sooner had she cleared dinner her children would be over and she would get up , make coffee and serve desert, hearing about their day. She was glad to see them; but, always glad when they left so she could have her time alone to read and write much overdue letters to her friends and family.

Eight o'clock came quickly and the woman was tuckered out. She took one last look out the window. It was dusk and the sun nearly down. The oranges and yellows  were fascinating, but she was too tired to really enjoy them. She took out the picture of her husband and kissed him for the last time.  She thought this is it. This is the end as it should be. She was too tired now. She put the picture down and drifted off to sleep. She dreamt of white snow and woke up in field of yellow dandelions.All was as it should be.