Reality

   My mother has the sweetest face in all the world.
   Her gray eyes crinkle, and she smiles with her whole self.
   She's truly glad to see me, whoever I am, and she loves me whoever I am and is grateful that I have come to sit with her.
   She says, "We are little now."

   She sings along to several songs, including "How Much Is That Doggie in the Window," "Silent Night" and — as of today — "I'm Getting Married in the Morning."

   She's as pretty and fresh-faced as any child.
   She says, "I'm 90...something."
   I say, "You're almost 92. In a few weeks you'll be 92."
   She says, "I am?!"
   I hold up my fingers like bunny ears and make them hop. "When people ask how old you are, you can make bunny ears like this and say, 'I am 92!'"
   She laughs.
   She giggles. She crinkles her pretty eyes and wiggles her nose.

   My mother has the sweetest face in all the world.