Mother is coming home with us tomorrow to stay for a few days!
She has been living with Deanie and Charlie for the past 16 months and before that she lived with Nita and Mike for 7 years. It will be nice for all of us to have her visit! Deanie and Charlie can get a break and Mother will have a change of scenery.
We have a brand new mattress and I put fresh flannel sheets on the bed topped with a velvet bedspread and a VERY heavy warm furry blanket if she gets cold. The bed is a little on the HIGH side but I have a step that I used in aerobics and I may put that beside the bed to make it easier for her. I scrubbed the window inside and out! Amazing how dingy dirty the windows get and what a difference it makes after they're cleaned!You may notice the large canvas over the bed that looks kind of like an abstract painting. I hauled this home after finding it on the curb one day in the neighborhood! One the back side it says, "FREE!" I'm planning on painting a seascape on it soon but in the mean time, it may as well hang on the wall!
I even cleaned out two drawers for Mother to use in the bedroom and one drawer in the bathroom.
Granted, our home will not be nearly as comfortable for her and Nita's was and Deanie's is. No TV in the bedroom. No easy chair in the bedroom. We have two rooms that are step downs.
No private bathroom. Still, I think she can handle that!
Tomorrow we will all be meeting together at our cousin's home in Mineral Wells for the first Get Together of 2016. We're all looking forward to seeing each other and catching up on things and just visiting and laughing and talking and eating!
Now that I actually started writing the book, I have a few questions I hope the older cousins can help me with. Simple things like the Christmas I remember in 1954 when we went to my Aunt Alice and Uncle Truman's house. It seemed like a long drive so I am hoping they - with THEY being my cousins - will remember where they lived. It's a wonderful thing to have family to talk to and jog each other's memories.
We will also be celebrating my brother's birthday!
That's what started our getting together every other month or so! Last January we decided if we don't PLAN it - we will never DO it! By spring of last year, we had reached out to our cousins and added them to the mix. It has been wonderful to visit and share and laugh for no other reason than just being together.
While we missed lots of years, we are making up for it now!
I do have to say, my cousins are some of the nicest people I know!
We have all had our share of bad things that happened in our lives but we also know that God has been with us each step of the way and has brought us to THIS time in our lives when we look forward to seeing each other -'just because!!'
Louis Dean and I joined forces in the kitchen this evening and made a great big bowl of potato salad to take tomorrow. I've been texting with my sisters as to who is going to ride with whom. I've even laid out my clothes for tomorrow and will wear one of my new pairs of shoes!
It's nice to have things to look forward to!
After our visit is over, we will pick Mother up and bring her home with us!
Win! WIN!!!
I hope you have a fun day tomorrow. Watch those step down rooms. If you have throw rugs out remember they are wonderful at causing a broken hip in old people. You have to child proof for old people just like you child proof for babies except they don't usually stick their fingers in light sockets or chew on extension cords. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteHave a good trip and a good time tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteI envy you being able to have your mother with you. You are a blessing to her and to your siblings who have cared for her. Thinking of you...
Wonderful to meet up with your cousins. I have a christmas card laid aside to remind me to write to one of my cousins. I will use your wise words as a prompt to write this weekend X
ReplyDeleteFirst off- LOVE your header, Linda.
ReplyDeleteI understand about the visit- my mother lived with us for four years (with Alzheimer's)and I would have loved a short break here and there but that was not possible in our situation. I am glad you are doing this--for all of your sakes. Enjoy your mom's visit. xo Diana
Hello Linda! It sounds like you have a wonderful day ahead of you! I cannot call your room a "guest room" is a "it feels like home" room. Your mother is going to be snug as a bug in a rug room! I cannot imagine two more gracious hosts. I love the modern canvas in the mix!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy this amazing blast from the past to present day, my friend!
w/L
My mom lived with me mon - Friday the last two years of her life, and with one of my younger sisters she stayed MOST week-ends. This gave me a break as mom couldn't be left alone and required A LOT of day to day assistance. I took care of her doc appointments [which were numerous] kept her medications organized, did her laundry, and got to her hair appointments, nails, etc. She had a room at my sisters and a bathroom she used and we just kept some clothes and cosmetics there so all mom had to do was drive back and forth. It was about a 30 minute drive. All of mom's old friends lived very near my sister and one of them always came and picked mom up and got her to her old church so she could see her old friends etc. They took her to lunch afterwards and sometimes on Sat. too and both my other brother and another sister lived closed by her as well and they too took turns "keeping" mom and spending time with her on the week-ends too. My oldest sister traveled down from the mountains occasionally and helped out on the week-ends too. I felt like 4 of them split time with mom on about a day and half [by the time you allowed traveling time back to my house etc.] where there was really nothing to do but visit and enjoy, and I had 5 full days and all of the actual work, lol. But trust me I appreciated those days off more then you could ever know. How I loved my mom could NEVER be expressed enough, and how I cherished those last couple of years with her and all the laughter, and fun, and conversations we shared can NEVER be replaced, and were oh sooo precious, but it was VERY HARD. I am soo glad you are able to not only give your sweet mom a change of scenery, but your sister a much needed I am sure break as well and some quality time with you too. Its a win, win, win! Have a wonderful time at your gathering today...that sounds like such a FUN and good thing to be doing too.
ReplyDeleteWhat a blessing to have your mother with you for a while, Linda! I love your header and background! Hugs.
ReplyDeleteHave a fun day with the family!
ReplyDeleteI know your mother will enjoy her time with you and Louis Dean. We never know what a day holds, so we cherish the times we have together!
My mother came from a big family so I have squillions of cousins - and unfortunately am not in touch with them - they are scattered all over the place (not squillions but over 100). cheers from Carole's Chatter
ReplyDeleteLinda, I hope and pray your trip and time together was a fun time. I hope you get lots of pictures of everyone. Blessings to all, love you, Susie
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a wonderful time coming up tomorrow!! Enjoy!! I love love love "tater" salad and love to make it too! Eat some for me please!
ReplyDeleteBusy and wonderful day for tomorrow. Hugs.
ReplyDeleteJoy
It was a great day ! I loved the drive & company with you & Louis Dean. You gotta love a man that speaks his mind and we all love Louis Dean!
ReplyDeleteYour mother will be nice and cozy in the space you have created for her. I hope it goes well for all of you.
ReplyDeleteTalking about cousins makes me sad. My cousin died of H1n1 four years ago. We were like sisters. I really miss her. Enjoy each other. Hugs
Linda, I've said it before but I'll say it again...I love to read your day to days. I hope you are coming to the get together in McKinney. Bring your mom. :)
ReplyDeleteYou have created a beautiful room for your mother to enjoy while she is with you. Your family gathering will be a lot of fun with siblings and cousins.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure your Momma is just happy to be staying with you for a while. It'll be an adjustment for everyone I'm sure in some little way.
ReplyDelete