Taking Care of Mom

It's been almost a year since I've written anything on this blog. The last couple of days I've been looking at some of my favorite quilting blogs and saw my blog sitting there. I wondered if maybe I should start putting down some of my thoughts as I struggle day after day to make any sense out of this journey I'm on. In January my Mom hurt her back and so she came to stay with me for a while. She was in so much pain we had to get her a walker and try everything we could to get her out of pain. While she was here I realized that there was no way she should be left at home alone in her home in Scottsdale, so she has been here since then. In May she fell and broke her arm, she doesn't recall what happened but Rich found her on the floor early one morning and informed me she was hurt. That turned into a two month ordeal of doctors appointments, casts and then a splint. We finally got that well and she came down with fluid on her lung, which is very dangerous for an almost eighty-eight year old. After a few weeks of antibiotics and doctors appointments she is finally well. It is emotional taking care of an elderly parent. She is so easy and thankful for the care I render but it is hard having someone to take care of all the time. I think of all that my parents have done for me and my family and I will do the best I can to take care of her until I'm no longer able to. I know now why I didn't go into nursing, it takes lots and lots of patience that isn't one of my gifts for sure.

Hoping For a Better 2017

Last night I was awake from 3-5 am. I hate those times when I'm tired but the mind won't let me sleep. Worrying is a trait passed down from generation to generation in our family, so on and on it goes. In the night I was wondering where the year went. Every year I start off thinking that maybe this year will be different and better. The older I get the harder it is to get things accomplished and the more discouraged I get with things going on in my life. It seems like the election brought out the worst in a lot of people. It is hard to see our country so divided on so many issues. Shoot, our families are even divided on what we think is right for the people of this great country, so no wonder all the contention. My Dad has been gone almost two years now and I'm so proud of my Mom and how she has handled being alone. Lately though it seems like she isn't doing as well as before and I can tell something is different about her. At some point us kids will have to make the hard decision to move her out of her home and in with us. Hopefully she will be willing to make the adjustments and be happy. Rich is still killing himself working to get jobs finished. I never thought things would be like this in our sixties, it's just a good thing he likes what he does. It is hard when you run in to dishonest people who don't want to pay for the work he does. He walks away from so much money that is owed to him because he doesn't want to waste time in the court system. He's getting too old to work for free and hopefully this year he will be better at picking honest clients who appreciate his talent will pay him for the hard work. I'm trying to not be Debbie Downer but sometimes that is just the way I feel. Hoping for a better 2017, can it really be worse than 2016?