Alzheimer’s being the conniving thieving bitch that it is, my mother wasn’t herself in the final years of her life. The woman I visited in the Alzheimer’s special care unit was a stranger wearing my mother’s skin but not much else, like the invasion of the body snatchers had taken place, month after month beneath the surface, until one day we looked and the woman we knew was gone, replaced by some alien being. An imposter. Intruder alert. Intruder alert. She died back in 2012. Don’t worry; I won’t be getting maudlin on you. My real mother–not that stranger in a wheel chair, head nodding on her shoulder–is who I want to think about today. My real mother —Enid Maude Good nee Hayden, a prim, old-fashioned name, perhaps the only thing about her I didn’t love— was British-born and had a lovely London lilt to her voice her whole life even though she left England in the mid-1950’s. I suppose at thirty, her vocal patterns were already frozen in place. Sounding like a cross between
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Hi Sim - I am blog-hopping from the A-Z and find another expat! I was born in Australia but lived in England from the age of two, so I'm English to all intents and purposes, so that is where we are trying to return to from Tenerife.
ReplyDeleteI also have a son living in Ontario, and my name is Elizabeth. I'm known as Lizy or liz.
Good luck with the rest of the A-Z
Hello there.
ReplyDeleteI'm a British expat living in the US for fifteen years now. I had to laugh as I was just watching an episode of Call The Midwife. I was really upset too when my sister told me on the phone I had an American accent...no I cried..cannot be! I think she was just trying to wind me up...knowing how much I dislike the American drawl (lol).
Thanks for sharing.
Entrepreneurial Goddess
I always liked those early portraits of the Queen. When I collected stamps I had so many stamps with this portrait on them. Ah, the British Empire where the sun never set.
ReplyDeleteI chose Elizabeth as the middle name for my middle daughter.
Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Tossing It Out
I have a friend whose mom is British, been here for years and refuses to trade her green card for citizenship cuz she loves her country so much. It's nice to see people holding on to their cultural heritage.
ReplyDeleteGwen
Fulfilling Dreams
amazing one.
ReplyDeleteI miss the portraits of the Queen as well. I grew up in Australia and moved to the U.S at 22. I think a lot of us expats still love the queen no matter how long we have been out of the U.K or its commonwealth nations.
ReplyDeleteSean at His and Her Hobbies
Appreciate all the comments! Had a glitch, didn’t know you were all here!
ReplyDeleteI always get a kick out of spotting the Queen's portrait in British TV shows and movies. I don't remember presidential portraits as a big part of my childhood. Except Washington. I think I was in a few classrooms where he was on display.
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