REGGIE, REGGIE, REGGIE

Money, MS

Her breathing is intermittent, with long pauses between breaths. The nurse tells us that hearing and touch are the last senses to go, so talking to her is comforting. My sister puts cream on her dry lips. A nurse washes her hair with a no-rinse cap. The family tells stories of her life. We cry, laugh, and deny the void her death will leave in its wake. Mom was always there in every way.

I learned to do the moonwalk at a friend’s Bar Mitzvah after seeing Michael Jackson on the Motown 25th Anniversary Special.