40th? Already? Mom and Isle Royale Bound!
I went to my 40th high school reunion last Saturday night at Poor Richards in Bloomington. I only had a limited amount of time because of an early 4:20 wake up the next morning but it was definitely worth attending. I do wish I would've had more time to talk with some others.
I like what one of my classmates posted to Facebook the next day; Terese wrote: "To those of you who weren't able to make it, please know that you were REALLY missed. Every conversation was punctuated with, "do you know what happened to ..." or "have you heard from ....". I sincerely hope no one stayed away because they were afraid old HS social structures were still in place. Everyone has SO moved on (and if they hadn't, wouldn't you just feel sorry for them anyway?). Please do yourself a favor and jump into the fun. Life is short, live it with love and gusto!"
That was so well said, Terese!
We've got our sunporch put back together! It's nice to be able to use it again considering how it's where we spend most of our time.
It's not the same as our tile floor and will take some getting used to but this was the best we could do without risking another tile failure. That wasn't worth it to us. We're quite happy with the outcome, the pups included!
I visited with Mom on Saturday after work. She was in a reclining chair by the nurse's station so they could more easily keep an eye on her. Left alone in her room she will eventually get out of her chair (opting to not wait for assistance) to use the toilet and she will likely fall. This happened the previous night and it's become a regular occurrence.
Our conversation went from her being very aware and in the moment to being bizarre. She told me that my face cleared up nicely after the treatment I had for it (Photo Dynamic Therapy) a couple months earlier. It surprised me that she would remember or even notice with her poor eyesight in her remaining eye. I was sitting with her in front of the aviary and she pointed to the birdhouses that line the top of it. She said she was invited to a party in one of the homes the previous night but she didn't enjoy herself because she didn't know anybody. She still has quite an imagination. I joked with her that Obama was elected to another 4 years and she looked at me sideways and said "nooooo!!" We both laughed.
I saw her again a few days later and she was stressed and agitated. She continually tried to get me to wheel her back to her "home" (her room) because she didn't want to be around anybody else. I tried to redirect the conversation to memories from her childhood or anything more pleasant.
Her face is becoming gaunt now from a lack of eating. A part of congestive heart failure is a loss of appetite. Her legs are very swollen but she doesn't appear to be in pain anywhere. I need to make more of an effort to make the 50-mile round-trip every few days for her.
I stopped by her townhome Thursday morning and weeded the gardens out front. She's always loved her flowers and even though she's not there to appreciate them, it just felt like the right thing to do. Plus, it will look nicer for when we put her home on the market. The gardens were so overgrown with weeds. Before and after.
Rachel left this afternoon on a weeklong camping trip to Isle Royale National Park with 4 other friends and all of their gear packed into her Toyota Camry. They're driving to Grand Marais where they'll spend the night and then take a ferry to the island in the morning.
She came up to me yesterday and said: "I'm just gonna put this out there and it's okay if you say no but do you think I could use your GoPro on our trip?"
I can't wait to see the video!
I like what one of my classmates posted to Facebook the next day; Terese wrote: "To those of you who weren't able to make it, please know that you were REALLY missed. Every conversation was punctuated with, "do you know what happened to ..." or "have you heard from ....". I sincerely hope no one stayed away because they were afraid old HS social structures were still in place. Everyone has SO moved on (and if they hadn't, wouldn't you just feel sorry for them anyway?). Please do yourself a favor and jump into the fun. Life is short, live it with love and gusto!"That was so well said, Terese!
We've got our sunporch put back together! It's nice to be able to use it again considering how it's where we spend most of our time.It's not the same as our tile floor and will take some getting used to but this was the best we could do without risking another tile failure. That wasn't worth it to us. We're quite happy with the outcome, the pups included!
I visited with Mom on Saturday after work. She was in a reclining chair by the nurse's station so they could more easily keep an eye on her. Left alone in her room she will eventually get out of her chair (opting to not wait for assistance) to use the toilet and she will likely fall. This happened the previous night and it's become a regular occurrence.
Our conversation went from her being very aware and in the moment to being bizarre. She told me that my face cleared up nicely after the treatment I had for it (Photo Dynamic Therapy) a couple months earlier. It surprised me that she would remember or even notice with her poor eyesight in her remaining eye. I was sitting with her in front of the aviary and she pointed to the birdhouses that line the top of it. She said she was invited to a party in one of the homes the previous night but she didn't enjoy herself because she didn't know anybody. She still has quite an imagination. I joked with her that Obama was elected to another 4 years and she looked at me sideways and said "nooooo!!" We both laughed.
I saw her again a few days later and she was stressed and agitated. She continually tried to get me to wheel her back to her "home" (her room) because she didn't want to be around anybody else. I tried to redirect the conversation to memories from her childhood or anything more pleasant.
Her face is becoming gaunt now from a lack of eating. A part of congestive heart failure is a loss of appetite. Her legs are very swollen but she doesn't appear to be in pain anywhere. I need to make more of an effort to make the 50-mile round-trip every few days for her.
I stopped by her townhome Thursday morning and weeded the gardens out front. She's always loved her flowers and even though she's not there to appreciate them, it just felt like the right thing to do. Plus, it will look nicer for when we put her home on the market. The gardens were so overgrown with weeds. Before and after.
Rachel left this afternoon on a weeklong camping trip to Isle Royale National Park with 4 other friends and all of their gear packed into her Toyota Camry. They're driving to Grand Marais where they'll spend the night and then take a ferry to the island in the morning.
She came up to me yesterday and said: "I'm just gonna put this out there and it's okay if you say no but do you think I could use your GoPro on our trip?"
I can't wait to see the video!
Comments
Come by and see us one day when you visit your Mom. We are only a mile or so from Three Links. I am taking my Grandson to Virginia Aug 25-31, otherwise I am at home most of the time.
Glen