Restraining ourselves

Well, I've been very lax when it comes to staying on top of things, and I apologize. However, now that the holidays are behind us, today seems to be the time to write.

I've been going to see mom as often as I can 3 or 4 or 5 days a week, depending on the weather. Yesterday was one of those days when I opted to stay home and watch 15 inches of snow pile up in my driveway. I got all dressed in layers and went out to shovel around noon on Tuesday, wound up getting my whole face chapped, worked myself up into a wicked sweat, and came back inside to cough and hack all night. Didn't sleep well at all, but will do better tonight with clean sheets and blankets on the bed . . .

So, I went to the care center today, had lunch with mom, and noted pretty much right away that she had something wrong with her right arm/wrist. After some investigation, plus conversations with both the nurse and the physical therapist on duty, we narrowed it to the wrist. Now, I can't say for sure that anything untoward happened, but during my visit today, spoke with several people, and one in particular raised my suspicions. I'm going to keep this close for a day or so, but will probably take a photo or two of the bruises I noted just to have on hand. I can't have anyone losing patience with mommy because she has dementia and is 99 percent deaf . . . now can I? I'm pretty sure my concern translated itself to all the staff members.

Meantime, let me say that winter has been pretty good up until this week when we got our first big snow. Getting her out and into the car is a task in itself when it's cold outside, but snow and ice make it nearly impossible. Tommy and his family still go to see her regularly, and her friend Ed is always on hand a few times a week. We had a lovely Christmas Eve lunch at Tom and Julie's with mom and Ed and family, and here is a picture to prove it.

Stick around friends, I will really try to do better about blogging - it really is cathartic . . .