Saturday evening at the beach

Mother's Day Outing

Happy Mother's Day to all.

I spent yesterday with my sons. We visited and went out to eat for Mother's Day. Today was the the day to take my mother out for some fun, so my sister and I took my mom and my aunt to the casino. My state is well known now for the casinos that we have on two separate Indian Reservations. Gambling is bringing in a great deal of state revenue.

I don't enjoy the gambling too much, and I believe have only been to the casinos a couple of times. I allow myself to play the slot machine for a small amount of money and I usually lose it all within 10 or 15 minutes. Then I become bored. The stores there are very high end so I don't shop there. Today, I walked around for exercise and brought my camera along.

The elders really enjoy going and know their way around there like the back of their hands. They usually take bus trips down there, so they were very excited when we told them that we would like to take them today. Since my dad is in rehab, my mom was free to leave town for a few hours.

We all took a break after going our separate way and met up for lunch. We ended up going to Panera Bread because the elders wanted soup, but I was disappointed, I mean I can go to Panera Bread anytime at home. I was hoping to go to Hard Rock Cafe. But it was Mother's Day so it was mom's choice.

I brought books and magazines along with me so I would not become too bored, but I never read any. The day actually went by pretty fast, after I lost my money in the slot machine, with just walking and people watching. I thought it would be more crowded being Mother's Day and all, but it wasn't too bad. They are saying that with the economy the casinos are not as busy, but since I never go there I had nothing to compare it to.

It is kind of funny to watch everyone play those machines thinking they will hit it big. Our elders think they have the machines figured out and they believe some machines are better than others. Maybe, but for me, I might as well have thrown my money out of the window, because in the end that is just what it was like.

Distracted

I am so scattered, seems like it is so much harder to focus than it was just a couple of years ago. Is there something happening to me or is this typical for this stage in my life? I don't know where to start when I get up and I feel overwhelmed. So I start something then stop and go start something else. Before you know it, I find my self on the computer. I mean I could have e-mail, Facebook updates, or updated blog postings. It is hard to stick with one project and see it through without jumping all over the place.

With that said, I will drag myself away from this machine and get back to work.

Elder news

It has been a long week. My dad was moved to a nursing home for rehabilitation. He has been doing well there and they don't expect him to be there too much longer. I will take a ride up to see him there today. I know he is anxious to return home. I learned my lesson about discharge last time though. I am going to make sure a couple of days in advance to get the instructions to be sure everything is in place when we get him home.

When my dad was in the emergency room, he waited 3 hours until they gave him an EKG. When my sister questioned the delay, the doctor got mad at her and used the excuse that they were short staffed. She wrote a letter to the president of the hospital to complain and ask about how they plan to take care of the staffing problem. I am very curious to see what his response will be. We fear that because my dad is elderly that they don't have the sense of urgency they might have with a younger patient.

But in any case, we are sure glad he was at the ER before all of the swine flu panic hit. I saw on the news last night that the ER was breaking records for patients seen this week. It must have been a complete nightmare to have to deal with the influx of people when they are so short staffed.

In a couple of weeks I will going to a workshop called, How to Avoid Caregiver Burnout. I am bringing my mother, mother in law and my sisters! I understand that this is supposed to be an excellent presentation and I look forward to it.

How topics of interest change as we go through our lives.

Not a typical sunday

This week has flown by so fast, but I did get a great deal accomplished. I bought a dress for my son's wedding. No more flying around to all the stores trying dresses on anymore! Yea! It is a steel blue color, kinda simple but elegant. I had my sister come and see it, so it was family approved. I am not a big into fashion. I just want my clothes to be comfortable and fit OK, and I will put any accessories on that people tell me look good. I kept telling the sales lady that my sister would be more excited than me and she was.

I spent the remainder of the week making all the final arrangements for the bridal shower that I am giving in August and designing save the date announcements for the wedding. I am enjoying having these tasks to do.

Today is my dad's 89th birthday. He as rushed to the hospital last night because he fell down yesterday and wasn't feeling well. They plan to run more tests today, so we don't really know what is wrong with him. He is looking better today than yesterday though and we are hoping he can come home tomorrow. The hospital brought him a birthday cake, but he couldn't eat it because he can't eat before his tests. Poor man, he has been waiting around all day for them to take him. No food since yesterday! We will see what happens. Needless to say, no pasta family dinner today!

My husband took the header picture of a building a couple of towns away from us. I thought I would post it because it is fun to look and see who you recognize in the painting. Enjoy!

My uncle passed away yesterday. He battled cancer for a long time and never gave up right to the end.

My aunt told me that she had a dream the night before he died. In the dream, he told her that he was moving because he found an apartment with a big piazza that was perfect for them. It gave me healing chills to hear about that dream. So now I picture my uncle up in heaven in an apartment with a big piazza waiting for the day when my aunt is ready to join him.

We are all taking his death pretty hard. He was the patriarch of our family and it feels like more than a person is gone, for we know that in his leaving some of our family history and traditions are gone, too. It is hard for me to explain. I know all of us will want to carry on so much of what he gave to us, and we will try, but it will never quite be the same. It is the passing of a man we all loved as well as the passing of an era.

My husband said it feels like one of the faces of Mount Rushmore has disappeared.

Posted is a picture of all of us on Christmas Eve from a few years ago. It was my uncle who really kept this tradition going strong all of these years. He is in the white shirt sitting on the couch.

Long time no update

Easter was spent at my mother and father's house with my sister and her children and my husband and sons. We all shared the cooking, so no one had he burden of doing it all alone. I made a spiral ham and cornbread casserole, my husband made his famous cheesecake, my sister brought kielbasa and string bean casserole, and my mother made sweet potatoes, salad, and strawberry pie. Plenty of good food and it was all delicious. As usual, the day went speeding by.

So much going on in the family. My uncle was admitted to hospice. He has been fighting cancer for a long time now and it seems there is nothing more they can do for him. My husband and I visited last week in rehab. He was hoping to make it home for Easter. Seems it was one of the last days where he was up and talking and was fairly comfortable. The next day he developed complications and soon after he went into the hospice program. He is still fighting with every breath, but not ready to let go just yet.

I just remember the way he squeezed my hand when we said good-bye, it was different than it would normally be. I knew what he meant, good-bye - maybe forever. I do hope to get up to hospice to see him again though.

We are planning to take the grandmothers to my son's graduation in a few weeks. We have to plan everything carefully as we need to get overnight care givers/companions for the grandfathers who can't make the trip. I think we are all set calling upon our siblings to stay over night with them. But we never know until the last minute if things will be stable enough to actually take the primary caregivers (the grandmothers) away from their duties. After all they are the most experienced with the needs of their husbands. But I know that both grandma's are looking forward to getting away from their care giving duties for awhile and get some respite and celebrate with their grandson!

Wedding plans are in the making. I think I have picked the mother/son dance song. My son likes it, so that pleased me. I am trying to post it here to share, but not sure if it will work.
www.imeem.com/people/pDUVwBq/music/4Skpm4Xj/dar-williams-the-one-who-knows/
We will have to practice it to see if it is a good dance to song. Right now I just sing it everyday in the car when I am driving to work.