I have been so preoccupied with things that I didn't realize that it had been so long since my last post. I had told myself, (as I have told others), that writing is a good method to get things off one's chest. Altho I don't quite consider blogging as journaling, it can serve the same purpose.you just have to be careful what you write!
As I read over old blogs that I have published, there are two that really hit home for me right now. The Retirement one and the Cleaning the Basement one. I'm thinking about both really seriously now. Retirement because I'm a few years older than what I was when I wrote the last one and cleaning the basement, again, because of some other stuff going on. Also, I guess, the one about the Only Child. Those three seem to be haunting me today. Being on only child does have its advantage like I mentioned, but it also has it's disadvantages.
I've helped my parents make a few moves in the last couple of years. This last one has been the most difficult. My Mom who has been progressively declining with PSP, (www.psp.org/) had to be moved to a long term care facility because she can no longer care for herself. Her disease is a nasty one and it is in the progressive brain disorders of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. Only hers acts a little like ALS. She is very dizzy, can't swallow well without thickeners, can't speak very loud or well, and can't see well. She also can't write. Her writing has always been a bit difficult to read, but now, she can't do fine motor skills, so she eats with her fingers. The light really bothers her so she sits in the dark with all the shades drawn. This is so hard to watch. She is fine as far as her thinking is concerned, but she has no good way to communicate. She can't walk, can't go to the bathroom or do much of anything for herself. This has got to be horrible for her to live that way but she seems to be able to stay in good spirits. My Dad isn't the most empathic, I guess never has been, so he isn't much help. Just complains about stuff. Like how much things cost. Good grief!
It was hard to take her there. We did find a nice facility and her room is actually new, so she is the first person to live in her room. But its so hard to watch her. I go down to visit and take care of things, and she has changed each time I see her. Not for the better, but she looses the capability to do things, each and every time I see her. I'm sure if I were there everyday I wouldn't see it, but once a week, I do.
We moved her on the 27th of January. Dad said he wasn't going to move. That he was going to stay where they were. Well, that didn't last very long. I think living apart and not eating or sleeping together got to him. He decided to apply for an apartment in the same facility which I was grateful for as I really worry about him driving. He moved in on the 7th of February. We just got him in with the stuff he needed and left the rest at the old place. We had until the end of the month to get the other stuff out.
We did have help. We had Linda, from "Change is Good". She was a godsend. She arranged for the movers, packed and organized things to get donated, sold or thrown. She didn't have to do as much as the move from the lake to here, but I'm not sure what I would have done without her. That's what her business does, it helps people down-size and takes care of the logistics of getting rid of stuff. It was great because I didn't have to take too much time off to assist. It was difficult for me to decide what to take and what to leave. Dad wasn't much help, so I made the decision to just have everything left brought to our place, with the exception of a few pieces of furniture. So, that's where the "Cleaning the Basement", comes in. I have a basement full of their stuff. Since Dad didn't help at all, I'm going through their stuff , organizing it, and bringing back stuff for him to take a look at. Some is recent, some not so much. They are of that generation where they kept everything so some stuff gets put in the burn pile, or get filed or otherwise stacked in a corner.
Last Friday, I brought more clothes for Mom to go through. She doesn't have much room, but she is rather fussy about her appearance and does want to look good. She has favorite things, pictures and figurines that I have brought her to make her room her own. I think I wore her out going through her clothing. The rest, I guess I will donate or sell on consignment, or rummage sales. It's hard. I guess I'm lucky because I still have my mom. So many of my friends and co-workers have lost theirs. Two in the last two weeks.
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