from Marigold

My father calls in tears to tell me that two burly paramedics have just wrestled my mother to the ground, strapped her into a straitjacket, and forced her inside an ambulance. I am, in this moment, on a meditation retreat. Never in my life have I gone on a meditation retreat. And never since.

By the time my mother is trapped in the straitjacket, I've been meditating daily for several years. I first tried it, in desperation, when I began to lose the children. Mysteriously, I discovered that meditation keeps me functional. All I have to do is close my eyes and count each breath. Thirty breaths, and I can get out of bed, follow a schedule, converse.