I Hurt My Mother With a Comment About Her Hands—and Later Faced the Distance Between Us

The furniture was gone, along with the familiar belongings and family reminders I had expected to see. Standing in those vacant rooms, I realized how little I knew about my mother’s life during the months we had spent apart.

Months later, an unexpected telephone call brought news of a private struggle she had been facing. It forced me to confront the consequences of my words and everything I had failed to ask about. I regretted speaking to her with such cruelty when a moment of patience could have left room for understanding.