Events

For those in the local area, here are the details for memorial events:

"The Morgan family will hold a Cajun wake for Elemore Sunday, May 25, 2-5 pm at his home on the prairie among rice fields and open sky to fulfill one of his fondest dreams of having his large extended family gather and "cross-collaterally re-communicate." Bring umbrellas, portable chairs, sensible footwear and sunscreen, food, drink, memories and love. This will be a very informal outdoor event. If you would like, bring food that arrives ready to be enjoyed and which will leave little behind besides satisfied smiles.

The Ogden Museum of Southern Art will host a special Ogden After Hours memorial tribute for Elemore on Thursday, May 29th, from 6 to 8 pm. Moderated by Nick Spitzer, Ph.D., host of "American Routes," the event will feature tributes from special guests, as well as a performance by the Packway Handle Band.

In addition to the memorial service, the Ogden Museum will open an exhibition of Elemore's works from its collection on Thursday, May 22nd. Located on the museum's third floor, the exhibition will feature a selection of Elemore's paintings and evocative photographs of Cajun musicians. For further infomation, please visit www.ogdenmuseum.org.

If you would like to contribute to the Elemore Morgan, Jr. Memorial Fund, please make checks payable to UL Lafayette Foundation and mail to Office of Development P.O. Drawer 43410 Lafayette, La. 70504 "

And some links from recent articles and websites:
The Arthur Roger Gallery Site (beautiful images and video)
The Independent, May 21, 2008
The Advertiser, May 19, 2008
The Times Picayune, May 20, 2008

Thank you for all of the support and kind comments.

Headed Home

A very sad Sunday. My dad died this afternoon. Still too much for me to contemplate,too many raw feelings, and all I want to do is pick up the phone and call him. He is always the one I call when bad things happen. Headed back to Louisiana soon...home will feel so different without him there.

The Small Things

Today was the first good day in awhile. My dad has had some serious setbacks and the past few days have been especially hard for all of us. Each time I prepare to return to Baltimore I have increased anxiety. Worried about what he will look like, worried about what will happen during my trip, worried about returning to the hospital (makes my stomach tense up like watching too many episodes of "ER" at full volume in a small room)...and yet once I get up to his room a lot of that anxiety fades away. The first hour I usually feel sad because a small part of me foolishly hopes that I will walk into the room and find him looking like his old self....sitting there drawing or listening to talk radio and when I don't see that, I feel sad. But after that first hour I find myself feeling a little more comfortable and peaceful just to be by his side. As a result of the complications and his extreme exhaustion, my dad has been pretty unresponsive for the past few days. It is a dramatic contrast to last week when I was in Baltimore and he was so lively and writing so many messages to us. This time he hasn't been able to move much and he hadn't opened his eyes until today. This meant that the smallest movements or indications that he knew we were there suddenly became very powerful. He wiggled his fingers at me on Saturday and that made me smile. He turned his head towards me when he heard my voice yesterday. And today we got an early morning call from my mom telling us to come to the hospital because he was very alert and opening his eyes. We rushed to his room and it felt like such a gift to see his eyes, his smile, and his happiness about being surrounded by his girls.

Mother's Day 2008

Tomorrow is Mother's Day. I won't be with my two little birds because I am headed back to Baltimore to be with my parents. It's been another rocky week with a few setbacks for my Dad and some very exhausting nights for my Mom. It has been exactly a month since this all started with my Dad's surgery. Time has become so warped for all of us. The days spent in the hospital take on this strange pace...moments that seem to take forever and yet at the same time the day goes by in a blur.

In addition to the my loss of time, I am also struggling with my desire to be in multiple places at one time. I have heard the term "sandwich generation" used to describe this generational situation but it doesn't quite work for me. I don't just feel "tucked" in between two pieces of bread...I feel torn apart. Desperately wanting to be with my parents while also desperately wanting to be with my own little nest that is about to become a little emptier with Adam's upcoming departure. And more than anything I just want to fix things...make my dad healthy, make my mom sleep, keep Adam home, but it's just not happening that way.

I guess that's one of the hardest aspects of mothering. I struggle with a false sense of control especially in those early years of when so much of child rearing felt like it was in my hands...potty training, introducing new foods, daily scheduling, etc. But really it wasn't all in my control. So much of it was just luck, timing, each child's temperament and readiness, in combination with my own readiness. Right now when things feel so out of control I am struggling to remember that as much as I want to control and fix things, I can't.

This Mother's Day I need to remind myself to follow my children's example. To live in the present. Children do this naturally. I envy that and yearn for it. Instead of spending so much time worrying about the possibilities, the responsibilities I need to just appreciate the moment. So I am flying back to Baltimore to do that. Alternating between two nests right now. I made the little felted bird above for my mom last month but in the midst of all of our recent moves I can't seem to find it. I hope she knows how much we all love and respect her. She truly is an amazing mama bird.

Morgan Opening

Tonight is the opening for my dad's show in New Orleans at the Arthur Roger Gallery. If you are in New Orleans between May3rd and May 28th, please stop in and take a look. We had all been planning and hoping to be there tonight but instead we are all here together in Baltimore. Arthur called my dad earlier tonight and he had a big smile on his face while getting an update on the show.The NY skyline piece pictured here (finished in above photo, in process below) was done this past summer at the Liberty State Park in New Jersey. Makes me happy to look at these particular photos because that was such an exciting time for him and makes me hope that when I am in my 70s I will have half as much energy, drive, and passion as he does. My dad is still in the ICU, still on the ventilator but still fairly stable and still working hard on getting out of the hospital and back to Louisiana. We are all very focused on that goal. As one of the cards on his bulletin boards says:

"The Landscape Misses Your Presence. Get Well Soon"