Visiting Pijji - Summer in RI 2011

Pijji is no longer able to live at home with Ajji and she now resides in a pretty villa on the bay. She seemed happy enough to see us, not really recognizing who we were, but knowing that we were people who cared about her.

 
She politely sat through our visit, declined the donuts, watched the kids with some interest. She did say that she liked my flowery bag and when I offered it to her, she thought about it and then declined, saying "My time for all that is done. It's your turn now."

I found some pictures of her on the web (the things you can find on the internet!). I remember when some of those pictures were taken and in them, she is so vibrant, so personable. She always had this fire in her, this great drive to do, to be. I can't help comparing who she is now to who she was then... and feeling the loss of this engaging, loving, intelligent woman. 

We walked her back to her room and she joined in a group activity. She seemed more engaged in that than she was in seeing us. This is her life now, in a pretty villa by the bay. We recede into the shadows. She faces her future alone even though we stand beside her, holding her hands.