My mother suffered from dementia, and along with that, acute hearing loss. As her full time caregiver, I received a great deal of help in the form of the Home Health Care workers who visited twice a week. We were scheduled to meet with a new member of the health care team who would do a routine evaluation, asking questions to determine my mom's overall wellness. I knew from experience that I needed to be with her during the interview. Dementia and hearing loss do not lend themselves easily to answering questions. During my time as caregiver, I needed some sort of release from the indescribable demands, demands that never seemed to stop. There was no sleeping through the night. There was no turning over the reins to someone else. I heard from many people during that time, people who were going through the same kinds of things I was dealing with. I had no idea that so many could identify with what I was writing about. People would stop me on the street, in the post office, the grocery store to say they knew exactly how I felt. They were going through...or had gone through...the very same things. They knew what it felt like to watch a parent forget how to put on a blouse. They knew what it felt like to be so tired, so bone tired, that weariness seeped into every movement, every thought. I remember distinctly that one man said to me, "I cared for my mom for almost ten years, and I'd give anything to have her back for just one more day." At the time, I couldn't identify with what he'd said. The minute to minute responsibilities overwhelmed me. My only relief was laughter and to write. So I present to you "Mother, Can You Hear Me?..".