What Enlightenment Might Be Like

My mom doesn't know we're coming for her 80th birthday, and it's been years since I've been to visit, so when she sees me, her eyes kind of glaze over and her jaw literally drops. My sister steps back to watch, laughing happily, as I step up and say, "Hi, mom." She doesn't cry, but she seems pretty dazed.

Later, she still seems to be having a hard time processing, saying, "When you all walked in, I swear to God, I stopped thinking."