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Bex Hall

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Bex Hall

I’d like to ask a favor

June 23, 2022

Will you send a note?

Send notes of love!

Today marks the 8th day since my mom had a stroke. She is out of critical care but still needs help breathing on her own. She is trying to communicate, but the old ways of doing so are absent. One squeeze or tap of her right hand means “yes” and two means “no.” When she pushes words out, they are guttural and their meaning is blurry.

But the other evening when I couldn’t be there, Mom’s partner, Sandy, held her phone on speaker so I could say, “I love you, mom.” She responded with more inflection than coherent words, but I heard her say, “I love you too.”

I’m reading a book called My Stroke of Insight by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, to help me understand what Mom is experiencing. Dr. Taylor experienced a stroke at age 37 and lived to write about it years later.

In the book, she compiled a list: Forty Things I Needed Most [after her stroke.] I’ll share some: I am not stupid, I am wounded. Please respect me. Or, Make eye contact with me. I am in here—come find me. Encourage me.

Trust that I am trying—just not with your skill level or on your schedule.

Focus on what I can do rather than bemoan what I cannot do.

Love me for who I am today. Don’t hold me to being the person I was before. I have a different brain now.

Mother and daughter.

One that’s important and where you can help is: Keep me familiar with family, friends, and loving support. Build a collage wall of cards and photos I can see.

Will you help?

If you have a few minutes, mail a note of love and kindness to:

Mom, 924 Braunlin Road, Franklin Furnace, OH 45629

Thank you. xoxo

Collage for Mom.

Filed Under: Stroke Tagged With: healing, kindness

No selvedge on my fabric heart

June 19, 2022

No selvedge on my fabric heart. ICAD Day 19

A selvedge is a “self-finished” edge of a piece of fabric which keeps it from unraveling and fraying. The edges of my fabric heart have no selvedge. My mom is in ICU after having a stroke three days ago and I have come unraveled. Hug the … [Continue reading] about No selvedge on my fabric heart

Filed Under: Art Projects Tagged With: ICAD

Answers lead to more questions

June 14, 2022

On this day in 1941, my grandparents married in Gallipolis, Ohio, 81 years ago. I found this last summer while going through some remnants of my grandparent’s lives. I didn’t know she was from Gallipolis nor did I know she was barely 17 years old … [Continue reading] about Answers lead to more questions

Filed Under: Memoir in Objects Tagged With: the objects

You can’t always get what you want

May 23, 2022

The miniature violin won at auction.

But sometimes you get what you need Last summer, I fell in love with a nearby property overlooking the Ohio River that was up for auction. A tiny house on a 1/4 acre lot with an oak tree at its side, which probably sprouted the same time they … [Continue reading] about You can’t always get what you want

Filed Under: Memoir in Objects Tagged With: the 100 day project 2022, the objects

The gratitude jar

May 22, 2022

In late 2015, a year post-transplant, my physical health had improved, but mentally and emotionally, I still struggled with survivor’s guilt and depression. My counselor suggested I try a 365 grateful project: each night, for a year, write … [Continue reading] about The gratitude jar

Filed Under: Memoir in Objects Tagged With: the 100 day project 2022, the objects

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About Bex

 

Bex Hall

Her writing has appeared in various online and print publications, most recently in Kerning, a literary magazine, and in the Stories of Hope Collection in Transplant Living. Her artwork has appeared and sold through the Grayson Gallery. She blogs here about creative life and creates in Studio BE overlooking the Ohio River. Her work in progress is a memoir about the secret life of objects.

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  • The 100 Day Project

    50 short stories in 100 days.

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  • Creative practice goals:

    Show up every day behind the pen, the brush, or the lens and share my work.

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