More Reminiscing

Randolph, the Bear Who Said No

One of my favorite Wonder Books when I was a child was Randolph, The Bear Who Said No by Faith Nelson. 

It is a moral story about a bad little bear whose automatic response was "no."  So a fairy casts a spell such that he cannot say anything else.  Do you want ice cream?  "No."  Do you want to play outside?  "No."  You can imagine the frustration that developed.  For the life of me, I don't remember how he managed to get the spell removed, but that book taught me you should always be careful of what you say!

Why I am bringing this up right now?  Today the Queen Mother (my invalid MIL) was Randolph!  Ordinarily she is very non-responsive.  She has a difficult time processing questions and rarely comments on anything.  But every once in a while the wiring connects and she becomes Chatty Cathy.  And often, when she's in that mode, she says "No" to everything.  She will stay like this for about 36 hours and then crash for another 36.  God bless the caregivers who put up with her through thick and thin.

Today she was Randolph.  And all we can do is laugh.  It's hard to say which Mother we'd rather have, quite frankly.  I wish she were still the lively, thoughtful, creative, artistic mother my Main Man grew up with.  But that will never be.  We do our best to keep her comfortable and healthy.  Every year we think it will be her last Christmas, but the Eveready Bunny fools us.

Randolph lives on......