The author and her mother: Laura Bridgeman (center), her mother (left). Credit: Laura Bridgeman's personal collection.
This weekend it's Mothering Sunday: Mother's Day in the UK. All week, I’ve been bombarded by adverts. My inbox is full of images. Many depict 1950s mothers in aprons with rolling pins. The women are all white, sane and eternally smiling. I delete them without question. I can’t see their benefit – for me or any of us. I turn off my computer and turn to my day.
This year, instead of writing Mum a card, I’m signing a form. In it, I state that she no longer has capacity. Mum will be 80 in October. She has Alzheimer’s and lives in a nursing home. For the first time, I have Power of her Attorney. Since Mum receives no benefits, beyond the Nursing Home Fund and the Attendance Allowance, we’ve paid £450 for the service. Soon, I’ll receive a cheque book, a bank card and full access to Mum’s finances. Because my family is small – Dad’s dead, I have one surviving brother and Mum’s an only child - the process was pretty effortless.
