Say What?

I was on a walk (yesterday) Easter morning when Tammy called me. She had just arrived at Trinity Care in Farmington where her mother is a resident. She was calling to tell me that she'd missed a call from the staff there and that her mother's condition had deteriorated considerably overnight. I hurried home then drove to be with her. Alzheimer's it's said is "the long goodbye", and it is. It's been several months since Elaine has shown any recognition of me. Tammy has spent so much time with her that I think there was always an understanding between them that there was a connection. When I arrived at her bedside, it was clear that she was close to the end. Her respiration was near 40 breaths per minute, twice what is normal, and there was noticeable congestion in her lungs. She never opened her eyes while I was there. We prayed she wouldn't linger in this condition for long. Tammy spent the night with her, reluctant to leave her side. The staff whe...

I've been watching a Netflix series called The Kindness Diaries . It's a documentary about Leon, a middle-aged man who did well as a broker before turning his back on his life of luxury to travel the world while depending on the kindness of strangers for food, fuel, and a place to stay at night. He has a crew of 3 who follow along (mostly out of sight) to record his encounters along the way. But Leon isn't only taking from others; he's also giving back in some large ways. I've been on the verge of tears several times while watching it. It's excellent! We had a taste of some awesome spring weather earlier in the week. I was able to get out in the yard on Tuesday and take care of 4 hours of yard work, mostly bagging up piles of leaves that are always late to fall from our oak trees. But the mild weather was just a tease. Wednesday arrived and with it, a major storm that dumped about 8" (20 cm) of brown-tinged heavy snow on what had previously been our snowl...