A Tiny Vent

So, my mom is just shy of 80. Not exactly a spring chicken. And she has some health issues: a heart-affecting birth-defect and COPD. And apparently my step-dad told everyone at their church that she's not doing well.  And yes, she was having some tests done. Now, if you live in a small town, you will understand. I've had soooo many people ask me "how is your mom?" and in the that soft voice with what they mean to be a compassionate look on their face. I didn't think too much of it at first. I mean, she told me the test results came back good although they found a cyst by her thyroid and then she left forWyoming to see my brother and his new grandson. But then I began to worry and called my aunt. We compared notes and she reassured me that every thing is okay. And then another lady from her church asked me again this afternoon and I practically yelled at her "she's okay!". And when I say yelled, I think I actually did. Her eyes got big and she was all like "oh, good. glad to hear that" at which point I asked her to tell everyone at church that Mom isn't about to die.

Now, I know my step-dad is just worried, and he's a great guy who has taken amazing care of my mom, so I'm not complaining. Mom does have breathing issues. But that's because she should have one of those portable oxygen tanks but she's too proud to carry one. But, just...wow. I think maybe I'm just having one of those days when everyone is getting on my nerves.

Yup, that's it. Just had to vent a little!

As Time Passes By

I just glanced at the calendar and realized it's my Mom and Dad's anniversary. Or, it would be if Dad was still alive. He's been gone 22 years (is that even possible?) and Mom is happily remarried. So here is the quandary-- it's still an important day to me. But maybe I'm the only one it's important to. My brother lives 5 states away and I love him to death, but we don't really talk that much; I don't know if he even knows what September 29th signifies.  Maybe it's still important to Mom (it probably is) but she's not sentimental and we have never been the type to talk about "feelings", so again, not a subject that's going to come up in the conversation. Okay, I think I could get extremely maudlin right now, and that's not my purpose. I just want to acknowledge the day in the one way I can. Happy 58th anniversary, Mom and Dad! (Oh, and happy 122nd B-Day, Grandpa!)

Photo Shoot

 Mom asked me to take the day off and drive her up to her sister's house. This particular sister is also my favorite Aunt. I used to go stay with her during the summers for a few weeks. We've always been very close. I wish everyone had a Favorite Aunt. My uncle, on the other hand, isn't a favorite. Since he was watching Fox News, I thought maybe I would take a walk in the back yard.

A sense of nostalgia washed over me as I walked around, and the realization that there may not be many more years that I will visit here. I had brought my camera with me, so I started snapping pictures, not so much with the idea of finding things of interest to photograph but more as a memory aid to refer to in years to come.

 This is a sample of what I shot. As I walked around I had flash-backs of the times I spent there-- the year my cousin had pet rabbits and we had to fetch them out of the hostas, the year he got a motorcycle and gave me rides at the back of the yard, the times my Aunt and I sat by the apple tree and she told me stories of her childhood.

The memories just flooded through me. This really was my happy place for many years! I'm so glad I took the day off to go.

There's No Place Like Home

We made it home Wednesday afternoon, a day ahead of schedule. The original plan was to spend the day in Denver at the hospital because both my brother and sister-in-law needed to go into work for awhile, so we were going to take the shift. But. My niece had a bad night Monday and into Tuesday morning, so tests were ordered and my sister-in-law called and told work she wouldn't be there. We spent the morning at the hospital, but with the weather reports coming in, we decided it might be best to head home. It was hard on Mom. I know she wanted to stay. But she has back trouble and this trip was not kind to her. My niece's recovery is going to be long--there is no way Mom could stay the whole time. Maybe 10 years ago, but her health just isn't up to it anymore. There have been times in the past when they were going through rough times and Mom went and stayed and helped around the house and took care of the other kids, but she just can't, anymore. The spirit is willing, but the body just can't do it. It hurts to see her like this. She was always so strong and active. I almost think it's harder for my brother to see her like this because he only sees her once or twice a year, whereas I have seen her gradually going down-hill.

Anyway, the whole point of this, before I got off track, was that we left just a few hours ahead of "Winter Storm Q". We stopped for the night in the middle of Kansas, got up early (with some nudging from me) and got back on the road. If we had stuck to our original plan to leave Wednesday we would probably just be getting started. As much as I wanted to be there, it's good to be home!

Update

We arrived in Denver safe and sound Thursday around noon. We drove through snow flurries for the last hour or so. We spent the afternoon at the hospital with my niece and brother. Then came on up to Cheyenne in the evening. The doctors think they have (most of) her symptoms diagnosed, but she still has a long road to recovery. She appears to be full of infection, therefore they can't do some of the tests that they would like until the infection clears up. Then more decisions have to be made about her treatment. We are staying here at the house, doing a few things. I'm not sure how much help we are. My brother and sister-in-law take turns driving back and forth to the hospital to stay with her. They both have to work Tuesday so we are going to go stay with her that day. At this moment, my step-dad is planning on heading back home on Wednesday and I will probably go with him. Mom is torn. She would like to stay, but she can't get around very well-she has her own health problems. I wish I was in the position to stay, but we can't really afford for me to miss more work than that.  I have been able to spend some time with my youngest niece (she's almost 16), which I really enjoy. I do find I miss the girls but my brother was career military and has always lived away. I just have to tell them I love them at every opportunity.

Predicting The Future

I was taking a little drive through the country yesterday afternoon when I came upon a persimmon tree. I stopped and picked up a few because I haven't had a persimmon in several years.  My folks have a tree on their property but the deer and raccoon usually get to them before we can.  Mom used to make persimmon pudding. Oh, so good! But very labor intensive. Lore has it that one can predict the weather by splitting the seeds and finding a fork, spoon or knife inside. Last year they had "forks" which means mild winter--and we had the mildest winter I've ever seen. This year everyone seems to be finding "spoons". That means snow. The ones I picked up are following suit. I guess I better get some snow boots since mine wore out several years ago!

Glad to Be Home

My niece got married Saturday-- in Wyoming. That's about a 15 hour drive from here.  I don't like to fly so my folks drove and my son and I rode along.  I should say, my Stepfather drove and the rest of us rode along.  He is, or was, a truck driver.  I would be glad to take my turn at the wheel, but he doesn't offer.  Have you ever ridden with a truck driver? No matter how small the vehicle, he always drives like he is in a semi! We don't make many pit-stops, and no matter how late it is getting, we don't stop for the night until we get to specific places. There is no flexibility. The folks have a 4X4, or in other words, a monster truck!  Very roomy, but not terribly comfortable. Now that we are home, my back is killing me! My daughter and her partner flew in to to meet us.  The closest airport is Denver, which is about an hour and a half from my brother's, resulting in more time on the road. It was a nice wedding, and I wouldn't have missed my niece getting married for anything, so I'm not complaining. Her new husband seems like a nice guy who is good with her 7 year old son. I liked his family (you can tell alot about a person from his family) and he has a charming 3 year old son.(I don't say that often about children!)  Ready-made family! We stayed in Base guest lodging--my brother is retired Air Force and he and his wife both have Civilian Military jobs. It was nice--a small 3 bedroom apartment.  Plenty of beds for everyone and our own kitchen and bathroom.  No sleeping on an air-mattress in my brother's "man cave"! Plus, much cheaper than staying in a motel.  I highly recommend it!  

Isaac Arrived!

Isaac hit us pretty hard yesterday. We seem to have hit an end to months and months of sweltering temps and no precipitation. For the last half dozen years or so we have had monsoon-like Springs with dry, hot Summers.  This year Mother Nature is doing her best to keep us guessing! My guage showed we had about 5" of rain in an approximate 24 hours period.  I was supposed to go to my Mom's yesterday for our annual Hog Roast. Several of the roads to her in the boondocks house dips down through the bottoms.  Quite simply, they flood. And she acted surprised when I said I wasn't coming.

Bird Sitter

Because the weather was so hot this Summer, we hadn't gone to the Zoo since April. That's unusual for us. Normally, we go 3 or 4 times a year. We're behind schedule this year! So we headed to St. Louis on Labor Day. It was the first fairly cool day. Normally, we wouldn't go on a holiday just because of the crowds, but we all had the day off and we decided to chance it. We left early and got there a few minutes before the doors opened. It was nice because the crowds didn't hit until later. This Peacock family reminded me of a time when I was a kid and we did some peacock "sitting". Friends of ours lived in the country and raised the birds. Some eggs had just hatched and there was one born with a twisted leg. They asked us to "babysit" the young bird while they were out of town for a few days. We did, and the poor thing died after a hand full of days. I know, not a happy ending. My brother and I were naturally upset, but Mom told us that it wasn't our fault that the bird died, sometimes these things just happen. I guess the point of the story isn't that the bird died, but it's more the fact that we got to babysit a Peacock once!

What'a Week!

Did I say in my last post that everything seems to happen at once? Oh, if I had only known....

I hauled my items to the Fair Friday evening and met the people I was going to be spending time with. It was really hot, but I enjoyed myself. Each day it got a little cooler until it actually became pleasant. My sales weren't what I wanted (in fact I lost money) but I enjoyed being on the Fair Grounds each evening and visiting with people. Then Wednesday night, after I had gotten home and had been asleep for an hour my Step-Dad called to say my Mom had fallen while untangling the dog's chain and he was taking her to the hospital. I got dressed and headed over. I got there about 11:45 and nothing had been done. And not much got done until after 2:30. The staff were all very nice, but there was only one ER doctor and things didn't move along at the pace I thought it should! They did X-Rays at midnight but didn't give her any pain meds until 3 a.m. She had to have 6 stitches in her head and she had a dislocated shoulder that they couldn't get back into place. They decided to admit her until a surgeon could look at her. At that point, almost 4 o'clock, I headed home so that my husband could have the car to go to work and I could get some sleep and make some phone calls for Mom. I guess right after I left, all hell broke loose! (I always miss all of the fun!) Miranda Cosgrove's bus was involved in an accident on the Interstate and they brought her, her mom and a few more of the injured into the hospital where Mom was. Mom said she heard the ambulances and there suddenly seemed to be alot of people, but she was out of it and didn't know what was going on. Now, I might add, even if I had still been there, I wouldn't have had a clue who she was. I waited on Reba McEntire once and had no idea who she was, but since everyone else was getting her autograph, I did too! Anyway, I went back at 10 o'clock, they were able to get Mom's arm back in the socket without surgery, and we took her home at 4:30. I wouldn't have known anything was going on except there was a girl that used to live in our neighborhood when I was a kid who was going room to room looking for Miss Cosgrove or her Mother because she had seen it on Facebook. And when I left I saw the Channel 5 News TV trucks in the parking lot. I heard there was more TV stations there later. To complicate my Wednesday, my daughter flew in Wednesday and her plane got diverted to Phoenix. We don't know why, but it was just another worry for the day. She spent the night in Indiana and then got a late start on Thursday and didn't get home until the evening. Friday we had the kids' oral surgery. It's so hard seeing your kids in pain! The good thing about doing it at the same time--they keep comparing pain and swelling! Yesterday, Saturday, was the final day of the Fair and I spent most of my day out there. I packed up and got home around 8 o'clock. If I set up a stand at the Fair again, I'll do it differently. I'm just glad the week is over!

Google Chrome: It Gets Better

I taped Glee the other night and while I was watching it the next morning this commercial came on and by the time it was over I realized I was crying. I still tear up each time I watch it. I became interested in Gay rights during college. I'm not sure why, except that a cousin of mine died of AIDS. I barely knew him, but he and my Mom had been close when they were younger. He had been living in Chicago and suddenly just fell off the map. No one knew where he had gone and Mom figured he had gotten mixed up with the wrong people and was dead. One day, out of the blue, he called Mom and said he was living in California. Soon after, he reconnected with his sisters. He never said he had AIDS, but it was the mid 80's and we suspected. He didn't want anyone to come see him. It made my Mom sad, and therefore, it made me sad. And I started paying more attention to what was going on around me. Now I read about these teen suicides and wonder what can be done. Bullies are bullies, whether you are talking about a 13 year-old or a 30 year-old. I believe it's learned behaviour and you aren't going to talk them into changing. The schools have assemblies to "address the problem" but I have little confidence that they accomplish much. I realize it's supposed to be a commercial for Chrome, but if it gets the message out to a few young people and helps them hold on, helps connect them to It Gets Better, then yeah for Chrome!