Empty Nesters Once Again and Too Much of a Good Thing

We're empty-nesters once again. Tammy has been busy this past week assembling all of the puzzle pieces to have her mother (Elaine) placed into a nearby group home. A friend had just mentioned this particular home to us and how nice it would be if we could have her there but they seldom have openings. Fortunately for us all, we reached out to them at just the right time. We never expected the process to move so quickly but when this particular opening became available we jumped at the chance.

We don't think we could've found a better place for Elaine and that's comforting to know. She'll be only 7 miles (11 km) away which will make it easy for us to see her as often as we'd like.

A week ago we had no idea that this is where we'd be today. Tammy was in tears this morning at the thought of her mother in an unfamiliar place but there's much relief to be had in knowing that she'll be well cared for and that our lives have been freed up to begin doing together the things we used to love to do but that we had to put on hold for the past 9 months. We went out to dinner with Marty and Brenda last night to delight in regaining our freedom.

Among other things, I will miss our conversations in the car where she would repeat for me a handful of stories that she would draw upon, telling me each as if for the first time. She would often talk about her brother Adolf and how he would take her and her friends dancing, or the story about the two boys on the bus who saved her a seat once because they wanted her to sit by them or several others that she enjoyed reminiscing about.

She never knew my name in all the time she's been staying with us and recently Tammy has stopped being her daughter and has become that nice woman who helps her. She recently referred to Rachel as her sister. Her decline into Alzheimer's has been steady but she has remained a caring and kind soul. As much as we will enjoy our independence once again, we'll also miss her sweet presence.

Charlie will miss the easy mark she was for scoring treats from her plate! Too many times he'd come up to us with food stuck to the top of his head that missed its mark when she dropped it to him.

I've been enjoying too much of a good thing and by that, I'm referring to golf. Crystal Lake Golf Course is only a mile from our home and I was over there on the driving range, Friday, Saturday and Sunday working on finding that elusive groove. I joined a men's golf league which will start in May and I purchased a season pass. Yes, I just bolted out of the gate so to speak—and fell flat on my face!

I was out at the course early yesterday morning before anyone else had arrived, excited to get my first round of the year in but after only a few holes I had aggravated the intercostal muscles of the ribs on my left side. It's a sharp pain and an injury that will likely prevent me from fully swinging a club for a month or so. I had to deal with this same injury back in '93 so I knew exactly what it was when it appeared. I'm hoping that because I stopped playing soon enough after noticing it that my recovery will be quicker than usual.

I can still practice my short game so I'm not totally dead-in-the-water but the practice range and the course are going to have to wait.