This morning I got a troubling call… a hearing was going to be set to continue my mother’s involuntary commitment for another 30 days, because she wasn’t showing any improvement. There was panicked talk of lawyers, and… nothing for the rest of the day. It turned out half a day of hearings was all I could take (at work today). I went home and fell asleep; not having planned to, but sleeping through the afternoon and well into dinnertime.

The ringing of my phone woke me up this evening. I think the clock on the wall said 7:30 or so, and the light coming in through the window was impossible to discern between twilight and first light. I was completely out of sorts when the caller told me that my mother was alert. She was up, talking, smiling, reading magazines, and making plans. She was looking forward to going home, building her strength back up, driving the car again, and going shopping. It may not be quite as stunning, but I immediately thought of that Robin Williams movie, Awakenings.

I’m nearly speechless. I don’t know what to make of all this, without seeing it for myself. From the sound of things, she sounded better than I remember her being in at least a year. I don’t want to doubt this turn of events, but how often do things turn out to be “too good to be true?” Yesterday she wasn’t taking care of herself in the most basic ways, and today, seemingly like a switch was flipped, she’s all better? What happened? Was it just a new combination of drugs, pure chance, or a combination of the two? Will it last? Will she be home and talking to me like she hasn’t been in years?

Maybe I’m still not quite awake, but I can’t wrap my head around this yet.