Struggles
Banished to the Basement
Today the hired caregiver came over to care for my mom while I try not to infect her with COVID and try to recover. It was very strange to be banished to the basement and listen to a complete stranger take care of my mom. Surreal and a blessing at the same time. I was […]
Angels Among Us
A friend of mine’s mother was taken to the Emergency Room last night with difficulty breathing. She asked everyone for prayers. Of course she was pretty scared. Later in the day, her mom was doing better as she responded to the treatment she was given. My friend was thanking God and everyone for their prayers. […]
Caring Friendship
My mom’s friend came over today. We had not seen her in weeks because of illnesses and Thanksgiving. She caught us up on the latest news of family and friends. She told us that one of their mutual friends of 50 years had a stroke recently and was currently in a rehab facility. She was […]
Can’t Run From Grief
Last night I went to the grief support group. One thought that struck me was that you can’t run away from grief. It will catch up to you one way or another. When I got home, I looked through the mail and saw a newsletter from the Hospice organization. The first article I came to […]
Good Game
My mom’s sister lives too far away to visit with in person. But we are happy when we catch up by mail or email or phone. She reads this blog religiously, so that helps us stay connected as well. Today I received an email from her. She was thinking about what games we might be […]
Turning Around
My mom has enjoyed her home therapists and enjoyed the family time we have had. She has been feeling much better than she has recently. I think she has turned the corner on this latest bout. My son came over for a while this afternoon and we chatted. He is loving his new job. And […]
New Techniques
We had a physical therapist come work with my mom today. When she was here the other day, she showed us a new way of using the bathroom. Today, she showed my mom a new way of standing up and sitting down. It was all in the placement of her hands and it was so […]
Made the Visit
With her daughter’s encouragement, my mom’s friend had minor surgery to lift her eyelids last week so she could see better. The surgery went very well, but it left her with some bruises around her eyes. She called yesterday and wondered if she should still come over since she looked like Boris Karloff. She didn’t […]
New Friend
This was the 2nd week I attended a grief support group at my church. As I was going in, I met up with another participant and her mother, so I chatted with them as we walked to the room. We got to know people a little bit better as we were talking about our circumstances […]
Friends
I had dinner with friends tonight, which was wonderful. As I thought about our conversations, I realized how many people are struggling in different ways. It is true that we never really know what people are going through unless we take the time to ask and listen. At the same time, I found that people […]