This is a wonderful article that expresses so eloquently your love for and compassion for your mother. You've offered a vivid portrait of who she was, and a sad, moving account of her life now. I can relate, because my mother was the same... an independent, in-charge sort who lived by herself for many years after my father died. I ended up moving my mother in with me, but those pictures of her as she descended into dementia did not depict the real her.