Down-sizing

I always seem to start writing my blog really late. We'll see what comes of this one. Mom is doing well at the Manor, I think, but she still gets lonely for family. The last few days I haven't stayed to visit for very long because I have spent 5-6 hours at her apartment packing the left over stuff. I don't know whether she realizes it or not, but down-sizing means the stuff will be GONE. I have found stuff she moved over from the house 9-10 yrs ago that I'll bet she hasn't looked at since she moved, but it's still there! The worst thing is that the organ has to be gone. I hate that, but even though I have tried to give it to the Manor so it'll be where she can keep her eye on it, they don't have room, so I have to give it to the organ man in town. Rats. I wish I could play it, but alas, I was more interested in chasing boys than learning the piano, let alone the organ. I have put in about 40-50 hours over at the apartment getting Mom moved. Guess that doesn't sound like all that much, unless we remember that I was off my feet two summers in a row, and I have learned sitting is easier than being up working. And my feet get really sore, walking around on that cement floor covered with very thin carpeting. And - when I come home, I still have to do the housework around here. Granted, I don't work real hard at that, especially since I cleaned well before Uncle Kenny and Aunt Dixie came on the 27th, and then cleaned again for community life group here on Sunday (the 31st). So it shouldn't get too dirty after that, especially since Lee and I are at Mom's most of the time these days. Me more than Lee, but he has been helping quite a bit. This seems like such an inconsequential blog - Who really wants to read about my take on my mom and my boring life? Seems like we don't do anything exciting anymore. It was fun having relatives here, even though it was very, very short. The end of next week Lee and I will be going to MN and he will be talking on the life of a railroader. That'll be good. Wonder what kind of a group will assemble from Mtn Lake to hear what he has to say. That should be interesting. I hope he will tell some of his fun stories about the railroad characters he worked with over the years. They are funny stories, especially the way he tells them. I'll let you know how that goes. That's the story of my life the last two weeks. Now I am going to bed. Good night, y'all. (All one of you)

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.

Happy Mother's Day!

My Mother

Yesterday was my mom's 95th birthday! We have spent the whole weekend celebrating, it seems. Friday evening the Red Hatters came to supper and we had birthday cake and ice cream. Treva and John helped with the decorations, and it looked so nice! Mom had a real good time, I think. We enjoy that bunch of gals, even if about 3 of them were missing, and we missed them. Here is a picture of the birthday girl. It sure was fun, and we had some good food to go with.

Mom is really remarkable. Her sense of humor is great, her health is fair, except for advancing Parkinsons Disease. She is still pretty sharp, but does get a little confused by events some of the time. Mom is a lot of fun, and has been as great influence on my life. One time when I was really feeling down when I was pre-pubescent (Know what I mean? Raging hormones, etc.), Mom came to my room and gave me the scripture: Isaiah 42:3: "A bruised reed He will not break, and a dimly burning wick He will not quench;..."

That scripture soothed my teenage angst and aimed me toward the Lord, I don't know where I might have ended up. Several other times her wisdom has saved me from stupid mistakes and I always knew she would be there to listen to me if I needed it.

And she is still here! Now it's more me helping her physically, and sometimes in remembering, but knowing she is in the world gives great comfort to me and my sister! Our mom is a treasure that we thank God for everyday. We are SO blessed!

What to blog about....?

I have gotten into reading the blogs of several of the young mothers in church, and I feel like now I know them so much better. Blogging is really a young persons thing, and for a retired aged person to be doing this is kind of a stretch. For one thing, I don't have any funny little people stories, because I have no little people in my life. When you have children like these young marrieds, then you have more to blog about. Even without children, young people have a joy in living that kind of loses it's rosiness in middle aged people.

I could, of course, tell stories about the old man in my life, but he doesn't do a whole lot exciting stuff either. Unless you count losing his coffee cup at least three times a week. He is always carrying that thing around with him, then sees something that needs to be done and sets it down. Then goes on to the next thing and sees something else that needs to be done, and by the time he comes back into the kitchen, he has been in 500 different places around this house -inside and out - and he has no idea where he left his coffee cup.

This evening was one of those times when he was busy inside and outside and even to the store, and then he couldn't find his cup. He went all over looking for it. No findie. So, when I got supper in the oven, I went up stairs to look for it. Nope. Then I went out the front door and checked out the front porch, and the wall he built in front. I walked to the east end of the porch and sure enough, there it was sitting on the wall over on the easterly corner of the wall in front. It looked like he moved one of his other pots, and had to set the cup down in order to move it, then no doubt decided that another pot needed to be moved, then something else, and so forth and the cup is totally forgotten.

I am so glad that I can find the stuff he loses. Sometimes I really have to pray to the Lord who knows where everything is, and then wait fo him to tell me where, or show me in my mind's eye. It is fantastic the way He does that for us. One time Lee lost his keys and neither one of us could find them. I went upstairs to rest for a few minutes, and prayed there, and I saw the keys on the mantle. I came down and there they were - on the mantle. One time it was his beeper that we couldn't find, and I was shown that it was lost in the yucca plant that we used to have in front. It's just amazing.

One time I asked God what was wrong with my nearly new sewing machine that wouldn't run. I had no idea what could be the matter, but after I prayed I got the idea to oil the machine, and voila - it ran perfectly after that.

Our God is a wonderful God Who truly does care about the very hairs on our heads! Any minute detail is important to Him. He is the Lord of the universe and the Lord of my tiny little life. How He could care that much for the little things that concern me, when He has the whole universe to run is truly amazing, but He proves it over and over. I can't wait to get to heaven so I can fall on my face in His presence and just stay there til He tells me to go do something for Him! He is WORTHY of all praise - ALL our praise!!!