The stay in the hospital with my mother created a strange sense of time. Neither one of us slept very much. There was a  surreal feeling of the hours flying by while the days seemed to drag on interminably.

Every evening ,at about the same time, She would enter a state of calm and rest quietly.It was at this time that I chose to take the elevator down to the street for the refreshment of the night air and for a glimpse of the stars.

The  busyness of the day had dissipated and the eery quiet of the night was uncharacteristically comforting.