Thank You Mother: Day 31

This is the letter that my mom sent to me last week. She is getting older and cannot recall many things comparing with 10 years prior. She is fighting with her dementia. About 2 years ago she told me that she had difficulty writing because she could not see small letters while writing. She also said that she would often forget Chinese characters. But she kindly wrote to me this time. It was difficult for me to read and her sentences sometimes do not make sense but I am so happy. I will share some of what she wrote to me:

Thank you for always sending me painting letters. Although I thought I need to reply to your letter many times, I cannot write words not so easily. I decided to reply and tried to recall the kanji [Chinese character] of “字 ji [means a letter]”, and it took me about an hour to find that specific letter “ji.” So I thought I should stop because I don’t like it anymore to continue. I couldn’t reply to you so long and it took me an hour to write the word “letter,” so sometimes I wanted to write a reply. So it seems like I know Japanese words, but once started I couldn’t remember words, so I’m really disappointed. I really didn’t want to disappoint you, so I picked up a pen and started writing, then it was a red pen. Who cares. I forget not only kanji but also hiragana, but anyway, I decided to write to you today. It may be difficult for you to read, but please read it. Please. Anyway, I felt good to write today, so please read it pretending that you are reading a letter from a kindergarten child. I will write from time to time, so please read it. I was very happy with your painting letter of magnolia flower the other day. It is also planted in the backyard of my home. I'm very happy to see these flowers fully blooming that look like swan flying. Although I think it is not my current home, I remember that it was blooming at the back gate of Gifu Elementary School. It may be difficult to read with such small letters I wrote, but sometimes flowers sprout and bloom. Sometimes, the planted seeds that I totally forgot sprout and bloom. Now, white lilies have spread and buds have come out. They have not bloomed yet, but I am looking forward to seeing them bloom in time. Bye!

Note: The attached card is half of the letter-size card that I made for my mom. I also made my address label and sent it to my mom. So she used it.