All Hallows Day

Catherine - Glenwood cemetery

 

I took this picture in Glenwood Cemetery in Houston in March of 2008.

I had an assignment for a photography class, and my daughter, Catherine, agreed to be my subject. Bribery with Italian cream cake was involved.

Girl covered in a black veil, Glenwood cemetery
Memento Mori, Glenwood Cemetery

Drew was with us in the cemetery. It was a bright day, and light filtered through the trees. He followed as I shot, through the light and shadow patchwork — from this monument to that, this idea and then another.

There is a later photograph of Drew that afternoon with the sheer black veil covering him; he wore a broad grin, incongruous with his black veil. He was a silly man. Catherine sat snuggled next to him. Hard drives are fragile things and that picture exists now only in my mind.

I give you another image.

Drew on the floor next to the hospital bed in our room at 2 a.m.. Dementia was setting in, and he had fallen getting out of the bed on his way to an imaginary meeting.

While he weighed less than 100 pounds, I could not lift him. At that moment, Catherine came in on cat paws, a flutter of light nightgown. We sat on either side of him and snuggled him close, the three of us together for the last time.

Vincent Laurensz van der Vinne, Still Life—Memento Mori, 17th century
Vincent Laurensz van der Vinne, Still Life—Memento Mori, 17th century

 

Thank you for visiting — for other articles on life and travel, browse the home page:

home-page

 

Ann Fisher

Ann Fisher

Writer, traveler, and cancer fighter. Get out there and live life!

Learn More →

One thought on “All Hallows Day

  1. dray0308 February 23, 2017 at 7:14 am

    Reblogged this on Dream Big, Dream Often and commented:
    Meet Ann Cavitt Fisher!!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *