Launching into the Holidaze
While we spent the day gladly slinging cash about in preparation for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, it doesn’t feel like the holidaze, oh, holidays! This isn’t too troubling as the main intent is to reflect on what we’re thankful for, thoughtfully choose gifts for others and be present in and enjoy each moment. These things […]
Protractor
We are in the middle of gutting our master bathroom. The other two bathroom remodels we’ve done were born of necessity, as is this one. A mystery leak, one that sent cascades of water down the exterior of the house, yet couldn’t be located, was the birth our current state of affairs. I can’t say […]
Lunch
We gathered to celebrate my father-in-law’s birthday on Sunday. His birthday was last month and between everyone’s schedules and his health, it’s taken a while for us to gather. The following is a character description of the attendees, not unlike you’d see at the beginning of a script: Dr. White (My father-in-law): Recently retired professor […]
Notes on Mom’s Visit
During the three and a half days mom spent at her Mainland home the following are a few of the things I took note of, not including the fact she now feels ambivalent regarding leasing her home here: When we arrived she looked in her back yard and wished out loud that she had gardening […]
A 180…
I should have known or expected that my mom’s urgency, as expressed in her e-mail, regarding leasing the Mainland house would not persist. As we started to discuss it she said, “Well, there’s no hurry about this. I’m thinking by next summer.” I told her this was the polar opposite of what she’d written, which […]
Mom’s Heading Over
I’ll be picking mom up from the ferry terminal this afternoon. It’s been quite some time. Her summer was good. She’s in a better ‘place’ than she’s been since dad died. She’s stopped looking for him, talking about him in the present tense and seems less depressed. She’s still, to use her own word, scrambled […]
A New Focus
I’ve shared many of my mother’s obsessive focuses: Evening fires, collections of cardboard boxes and fir cones, repeated conversations and assertions. We have a new Statement: “The barns are practically empty.” The barns are nowhere near empty. They aren’t nearly as full as they were when a) dad was alive, b) before they bought their […]
Confirmed…
Mom last filled her Aricept Rx on 7/22/14. While the insurance EOB helpfully cut off the left side of the statement exactly where it would tell me if it was a 30, 60 or 90 day supply, I could tell, on September 18th, without counting the remaining tablets, that there were far more than 30 […]
Dementia Dance - Travels with Mom 