Still Thankful, but exhausted!

Another Thanksgiving under our belts. Last year was a hard Thanksgiving for our family. This year it was a back to normal kind of holiday. Well, kind of normal despite it being the first Thanksgiving without my dad.

I had 11 people at my house for dinner. My mother and in-laws and a couple of my aunts, as well as, my kids, niece, and brother in law. All 5 of our elder crew are all well over the age of 80! We are really lucky to have them with us. They all are still active and cooking, so they brought over their specialty dishes as well!

I made the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cornbread casserole and an assortment of appetizers.

My guests brought over sweet potatoes, squash casserole, creamed onions, green beans, salad, pumpkin and apple pies. An abundance of food, family, and love.

I made a cornbread stuffing that I saw on the Oprah Show. It is very labor intensive, but oh so good! Rave reviews from the elder crowd and those don't come easy!

Check it out here:

http://www.oprah.com/food/Thanksgiving-Stuffing-with-Cornbread

Saturday update

This week was a short work week and I loved it. No work on Veterans' day so I made time to go down to sign up for pool membership at the physical therapy facility in town. When I walked into the pool area and saw that it was completely handicapped accessible with a ramp so you can just walk into the pool, I was delighted. Easy in and easy out. So I spent an hour or so of my day off there and I loved being in the water. The warm water felt good on my very painful joints. Everyone there was handicapped in one way or another. We were all over 50, some well over. It reminded me of the movie Cocoon, where all the elders were swimming in the pool. I was laughing to myself and also thinking about how old I am now, and although I don't feel it on the inside, I sure look it on the outside.

The other day at work, I had an incoming text message from my boss during a meeting with a young director. She was astonished that the boss would be texting me and that I knew how to text. So she asked me if my children had taught me how. I have to say I was a wee bit offended by that. I mean, how hard is it to learn how to text? So I told her no, that I had taught myself. She said she taught her mom. I guess in that moment, I realized how she saw me as an old woman. Blah! Oh, well. I am old enough to be her mom, so that is that. Whippersnapper!

Later we took in some musical theater, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying." We both enjoyed it so much! I found it to be my favorite among the series.

My husband's dad is now in a residential facility geared for adults with Alzheimer. It is a very nice setting and word of mouth has been excellent about the care people receive there. It was hard to make that final decision, but all things hard are necessary and it is a good thing for the family.

Between all the work with his dad and his injuries, no work got done on the house for a couple of weeks. Since my husband is still recovering and in a lot of pain, we decided to hire out for some help. I am thankful he agreed to do that because there was no way he could do it all alone. I don't think he realized the toll it was taking on him because... he isn't getting any younger either!!

Later this afternoon, we are hoping for a get a way to the shoreline and a fish dinner!

Sunday update

Sundays have changed since my mother moved. Since there isn't room for all of us at her new place, we tend to divide up. Some of us go during the week and then a few on Sunday. Once we get the house renovated and we move in, I hope that changes and we can all meet at the house where we all grew up and have our Sunday dinners resume.

I wonder how it will be for Mom to visit us in her former home? I know she misses it so much, and after 60 years living there, how could she not? I thought she would be happy that we kept the house in the family and I believe she is, but wonder how weird it will be for her to be visiting? Time will tell. Sometimes, just once in a while, I wonder if we should have just cut all ties. I guess that is because on some level I feel guilty.

My husband was working everyday at the house ripping up the old carpets, pulling down old wall paper, etc. etc. Workmen were coming in giving estimates, we had an energy audit. Things were moving along. My husband is retired from his full time work, and has his art business, plus a few volunteer positions. On top of that, he also has elderly parents and is their sole care-taker. His mom is 89, dad 86. Dad has Alzheimer. His dad recently came out of an extended stay in rehab and came back home. So my husband has also been very busy with his parents. Very busy.

Unfortunately, my husband fell ill this week, which resulted in a fall. While all the tests at the hospital were negative, he did wind up with a cracked rib and chipped elbow. He is most uncomfortable.

So the house renovating has been put on hold until he is feeling better. Changes are going to be made with the care for his parents. More help needs to come in all areas. Slowing down and self care are high on the agenda now!