I wrote this piece in July 2006. I shared it with friends and while they appreciated it, I don't think they truly undertood it the way you all can.
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My mother is a magician.

She's always had the talent.
It used to be her magic involved things like making dinner for 5
out of two moldy potatoes and a pound of hamburger
or making the sting of an owie go away with a kiss
or somehow always knowing what my brothers were up to,
even when she was looking the other way.

Lately she has developed a disappearing act.
Within the blink of an eye, without you being aware,
she can morph from one place to the next.
Where is she now? 1967.
Where'd she go? 2005, before Dad died.
There is no apparent rhyme or reason to where she might be next.

And my mother is passing on this magic to me.
I am a magician's apprentice.
I can be different people within one visit.
Within the blink of an eye, without a costume change,
I can be daughter, aide, sister, friend.
A fluid cast of characters to match my mother's disappearings.

I wonder why I have been selected to bear witness to my mother's magic.
And I wonder if someday she might forget how to come back.

i can understand that, and i think it is beautiful. Thanks for sharing.