Craig Mecham

This song comes from the last time I saw my mom at the care center. We didn’t get to see her too often since we lived over 1,000 miles away. My Dad had passed away more than 20 years earlier. The last time I saw her, I walked in while she was eating her lunch—being fed her lunch is a more accurate description. I took over for the aide that was feeding her and finished feeding her—probably much like she did to me when I was an infant. She had no idea who I was. I spoke to her. She didn’t respond. She just sat there in silence. I had to coax her to open her mouth and eat. After eating as much as she would, I wheeled her into the great room where there was a piano. I put her wheelchair at the end of the piano, and I sat down and started to play. I played music that I knew she had heard me play thousands of times. She just sat there with her chin on her chest, nearly catatonic. After I had played for a minute or two, she raised her head, her eyes got real big and she said, “Craig?”. I said, “Yes, Mom it’s me!” But it was already too late. The curtain was closed. For just the briefest second the music had pierced the fog that engulfed her mind, and a ray of light came through. It was an incredibly tender experience for me. The song is written from my Mom’s point of view. I hope you enjoy it.