Should auld acquaintance be forgot And never brought to mind?

When 2023 kicked off, I was already steeped in anticipatory grief, not really realizing that’s what it was. The holidays had been hard—it was becoming more evident that my mom’s body was beginning to shut down, her bones protruding through her delicate skin in ways that made me uncomfortable to see. I finally hit a tipping point with my dad about her feeding after a scary night in December where I watched my mom choke on the small amount of pureed food we attempted to feed her. After that experience, I told my dad I was not comfortable trying to feed my mom anymore, seeing that it was causing more harm than good.