Signs of the times

Time to post again, as the seasons change and life moves along too.

This morning, I saw two city trucks pull up out in front of mom's house. The guys got out and busied themselves putting a snow marker on the fire hydrant located at the end of our street. YIKES, talk about a sign of the times! Snow's a-coming, I guess, and they don't want the plows running into it and making a mess of things during the winter months.

Other signs of time moving on for me include my making a couple of life decisions this month - to do some things that have needed doing for a while now. On October 2nd, I stopped smoking - for the second time this year. I tried in May, got to 20 days and picked up again. This time, I used the Chantix again, but to reinforce the decision, I made an appointment for a Lifestyle Lift. My 40-year smoking habit coupled with my desire to spend time in the sun without sunscreen protection had made a real mess of my face, so now that I had time and inclination, I decided to fix that. The procedure was incredibly painful and pretty expensive. I don't think I'll need much more motivation than that to avoid tobacco in the future, and I think once my bruises and swelling subside, I'm going to be pretty pleased with the results. I'd really like to enjoy the next 20 or so years looking and feeling really wonderful, and maybe I'll get blessed to find a life partner to spend them with too.

The down side of the lift is that I haven't seen mommo since last Wednesday, when we got together out at the Care Center with a few of our friends. This is Carolyn, one of the women who was so close to mom for so long. She is one of the smartest and most loyal of friends mom has. I'm so fortunate that Carolyn and her husband insist on being part of my life now too. It's amazing how the people mom has touched throughout her life have rippled back to touch mine.

I think I might be healed enough by tomorrow to go see mommo and not scare her to death. Once things settle, I'll post a before and after for you all to chuckle at. Thanks for reading and for thinking of us, I am thinking of all my friends too. Take care!

Busy beautiful fall

So, the last month has flown by, not sure what all has kept me so busy, still clearing things out of the house. Nice days find me outside reclaiming the house from the surrounding woods and weeds, not so nice days I'm inside with one chore or another. The basement is still in need of lots of time and attention, but as long as the sun shines, I'd rather be out wielding my new Black and Decker tree loppers!

I see mom about every other day. A few weeks ago I took her out of the Care Center for the first time, and we drove over to Tom's house. He made grilled cheese sandwiches for us and we visited for an hour or so before mom was ready to go. The next time we went was on a weekend, and she got to see her grandkids. It was a good visit.

Yesterday, however, my visit was not as easy or pleasant as they had been. The weather had taken a turn for the worse, rainy and cold all day long. Mom has long been affected by whatever bad weather turns up (she's been talking about the snow coming since June). Her mood was dark and she was obviously depressed. I did my best to entertain her, we left the unit and walked around the rest of the residence, stopping in the cozy alcoves to rest and check out the animals in the birdfeeders. When it came time for me to go, though, she sort of fell apart and began to sob. Of course, that made me cry too, and the guilt crept right back in - in spite of the fact that I know in my heart that we made a good decision to get her this care and I am sure that she is in a great place and being cared for by wonderful people.

I know from experience that she was probably fine 5 minutes after I left, but the coming winter is likely to take its toll on her and on me and the brothers as well. No matter, I am committed to making sure that mom is NOT left abandoned by her family, as too many of the residents at the CCCC seem to have been. She needs us - but more, I need her in my life.

I hope this finds my friends in good health and happy times. Stay warm, here it comes!