Patty's Weblog

She stood, forgotten cart blocking the aisle, fingers clutching a list, body drooping with years of small neglects, today she will buy a healthy treat, something good for her, but is that low-fat - low-carb - mega-protein - sugar free - contains honey - no preservatives - no caffeine - caffeinated - contains soy - 100% soy protein - omega 3 - ultra-energy - lactose-free - cholesterol-free - vegan - vitamins A and D - all natural - good tasting - taste not specified - name brand - generic, she can't find the one she bought years ago and liked, are there other places in the store where these are kept? with the dried fruits, with the diet supplies? her brain fills with white static, she can't make this decision, maybe she should listen to her daughter who urges her to move to the old peoples home, she will sit in a chair, eat watery jello, ignore the pills in a small paper cup put on her tray by the nurse (the nurse will talk behind her back: "how stubborn that woman is" "how fat"), she will stare at the white noise of a television, give up, let her body sink slowly to a halt, down to the earth, to the elements that formed it.