Mom was the queen，our
　　As I entered her kingdom I knelt beside her and placeda kiss on her majesty’s hand。Even in this frail lifelessexistence she was still the queen．She had reigned over naykingdom for nearly fifty years．
　　Her elegant purple robe was replaced by theblue．gray drab hospital gown，a terry cloth towel replacedher golden crown，her jewels of diamonds and rubies werenow molded plastic and rubber．
　　Nearly thirty days the queen was held against her will．Her soul locked in a prison of flesh and bone．We knew itwas just a matter of time before the kingdom came crashingdown and we were helpless to defend her throne．
　　Morn’s hcan rate grew slower and fainter．She couldnot speak but her eyes conveyed the message．
　　“No，Mom，no!Don’t you dare leave me!I，m notready to assyne this responsibility．I don，t want to wearyour robe．You are so wise and all the others come to youfor strength and guidance!”
　　Her eyes locked onto mine one final time and I knewshe was handing me the keys to her kingdom．
　　The solid foundation of my childhood had been shakenand I felt it crumbling beneath my feet．
　　A small stream of tears escaped her eyes and I knew Ihad become queen。“Mom!”I cried out．
　　The fortress had become silent and ready or not thekingdom was mine。
　　It has been two years since the crown was passed tome．There have been many times I proved unworthy of thehonor．My children tumed to me for wisdom and guidanceand I found myself looking for the queen。But，1 was thequeen now,the decisions were mine to make．How I hatedthis job!1 wasn，t good at it and I didn’t want it．I felt aloneand that made me afraid．
　　I fought hard to carry on．I looked for a book thatwould instruct me．there were none．Memories of her wouldrush in and sweep me away．1 would cry in the darknesswhen there was no one to see。1 was their queen and I had notime for tears．
　　When I thought I could endure no more a friendbrought to mind that each of us are given challenges and weneed to reach deep within to find our strengths．My motherhad been the strong one not me．1 was reminded that l“wasmy mother，s daughter．
　　“What was that supposed to mean?”I had wondered．
　　……P14-15