To a new phase in life

That is a new phase in the life of my mom. Thursday I took Mom over to spend her first night in her new digs at Presbyterian Manor in assisted living. It went better than I thought it would. The nurse came for another assessment, then Mom and I sat and talked, I unpacked some more, and showed her a couple of times where I had put everything. She keeps stewing about no pictures on the wall and she thinks she needs drapes or something. I told her we had to wait til the maintenance men come to help put the pics on the wall. She and I will arrange them and stack them on the floor of the wall where she wants them. I also have tried to talk her into just putting up a valance so she won't lose her tremendous view out her windows. Nobody can really see in, and she is able to look out on the pre-school playground and the courtyard. It is really a lovely view. I felt kind of like an executioner when I walked out of the home Thursday evening. I was so afraid Mom would be terribly unhappy and all. Well, when I took some more things over to her on Friday afternoon, she was doing fine. She seem s to be adjusting remarkably well and is doing wonderfully. I sat with her Friday til supper-time, and when it was 5:30, she announced that it was time to go to supper, she got up, got her walker, got the room key off the door knob and tottled out the door. I walked her down to the diningroom - about 5 or 6 doors down from her room, she parked her walker, gave me a kiss and went to the buffet. I was dismissed. And she is fine. Thank God! I think the anticipation has been much worse than the actual doing for her. I think she realizes now that she will benefit from being there where someone will look out for her and she will have help whenever she needs or wants it. She is using her walker like they want her to. She knows several of the women in there already and sits with a few of the ones she knows at dinner, so she can converse with someone, although I have observed that everyone there was so glad to meet her and glad that she has finally moved in. It's a good move. After 4 3/4 months of taking care of Mom 24/7, except when I had to go to a meeting, and two evenings in that time that both Lee and I went out to dinner with friends or for church, the first night I rested very well. Last night was good for four hours, then I rolled over and was awake. So I am tired. But I got more accomplished today than I have for a while. May have company come stay Tuesday & Wednesday so I need to get cleaning big time. Had to move all the stuff out of Erin's room so that they can have that bed. There is still an awful lot of stuff in there, but the bed is cleared of all my clothes, since that room was my dressing room while Mom was in my other dressing room. We'll see what transpires. Our guests may opt for the motel. And that will be alright, I just felt like I needed to offer our house since we have so much space. So life is marching on, and we are rolling with it. Thank God He goes before us and prepares the way before we ever get there. Our God is so good.