MYSTERIOUS WAYS | AUG/SEPT 2019 21
By Karen Malena
MONROEVILLE, PENNSYLVANIAA Day at
the Theater
Beauty and the Beast! Live
on stage!
I slowed the car to read the sign
more clearly. The same sign that
was posted on practically every tele-
phone pole along the whole block.
My old high school was putting on
a musical.
Mom would love this, I thought.
I’d been searching for something
to cheer her up since my dad’s
death. She’d already been living with
dementia for a while. In some ways
we were lucky. Mom could still live
at home with my brother, where I
visited her several times a week. She
still recognized her family, even if
she’d forgotten many details about
her life. In fact, the loss of those
details might have been a blessing.
Mom couldn’t dwell on the mem -
ory of Dad’s last days. Sometimes
she seemed to think he had just
gone out for a while and would even-
tually come back. She’d sunk into a
deep sadness, but she didn’t always
understand the nature of her loss.
Even if Mom didn’t always remem-
ber that Dad was gone forever, she
missed him. Especially with nothing
to distract her. I tried to keep her
focused on the present. I told Mom
about a cake recipe I was trying
out. A classic movie I’d watched.
Hummingbirds and butterflies
I’d seen. Anything I could think of
to keep Mom’s mind from drifting
somewhere too sad—or just some-
where too far away from the here
and now. By the end of every visit, I
was exhausted and discouraged.
I’d leave knowing that I’d kept Mom
diverted but not truly happy. Not
the way I wished she could be again.
Now here I was, staring at an ac-
tual sign advertising a performance
of one of Mom’s favorite stories.
Could this be the answer to prayer?
When I was growing up, Mom told
me the tale of Beauty and the Beast.
She and I had rushed to see the
Disney movie version when it first
came out. Watched the video over
and over. I even caught Mom danc-
ing around, singing the opening
number, “Belle,” while she cooked
dinner once. The sight of my quiet,
dignified mother dancing and sing-
ing was one I would never forget.
Maybe this show could really bring