It’s been a wild and wonderful rollercoaster winter so far, not more than one or two shovel-able snows, mostly it flurries, then it warms up to 40. Even though I think it’s really been nice, mom’s sensitivity to cold keeps me from taking her out often. In addition, she seems to have dropped a little lower on the latest plateau, and is sleeping quite often during the day. Some days when I come to help her with lunch, she is almost comatose, and any attempts to wake her angers her no end. I’d rather she sleep than to get upset about it. Staff will always make sure she eats. Other days, she will actually open her mouth and take a bite, chew and swallow, all the while still dozing. Like feeding a baby, I would guess (no experience there for me!) She is pretty much done feeding herself . . .So, visiting the Care Center has become a daily focal point for me. I look forward to seeing staff and patients alike, and they seem to enjoy having me. Sometimes when they are all seated in the dining room and waiting for trays to be delivered, I get up and lead a sing-a-long . Mostly I do this to entertain myself, but it seems to make them happy too. Today we sang “B-I-N-G-O was his name-O” and “You are my Sunshine.” I’m thinking Coming’ Round the Mountain might be a good one for tomorrow. I have asked if I might be able to do some volunteer work there, and was told to please just keep coming at lunchtime. I love them all, staff and clients alike.
Today when I got there, mom was up and shuffling around the hallway, so we had a pretty good visit. She had slept through breakfast, so was given a Danish around 11 a.m. That meant she didn’t want her chicken parmesan for lunch, so I got to eat that. She did drink her milk and her protein shake, and had her cherry pie. Afterward, we walked to the end of one of the hallways, where we sat in sunshine and she fell asleep.
Now, here’s the big news for today. After leaving the Care Center, I drove into Meadville and up to the big Salvation Army store to do some shopping. I want some new jeans! Well, in spite of the number of racks I rifled, I found none to suit, but – as I rounded the corner toward the knick-knack area, I saw a real treasure. It was a huge plastic bin filled with 13 – count ‘em, 13 – brand new unopened packages of Depends in mom’s size. They were marked $2.99 each, with 20 in each packages. I didn’t hesitate, but threw my purse into the bin, bent over and pushed it to the checkout counter! For about $40, I got 260 diapers for mommy! Do you know how much those things can cost????????? I felt like I’d won the lottery! So, the back of my car is filled with diapers. I’ll unload some into the basement tomorrow morning and likely donate some to the Care Center in addition to stocking mom’s closet with all it will hold. Life is good, no? Actually, life is good, YES! I’m so blessed. Thanks everybody. I miss talking with you, but I sure do love that you miss me too!
