Mothers as Caregivers

A humorous personal essay about adoption, parenting later in life, and a child’s unfiltered poolside comment about “not-real parents” and aging.

When my mother was eight years old, she became ill during the summer polio outbreak. After a misdiagnosis, a spinal tap confirmed poliomyelitis. The health department quarantined the house, and for months her mother kept her alive through isolation, fear, and relentless care during one of the most dangerous eras of childhood illness.