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Good Game

Posted by eph21920 on October 27, 2022 in Connected, Family, Fun, Grateful, Life, Struggles

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 able to play with the whole family of different ages, and remembered the game of Yahtzee. My mom wasn’t sure if we had the game. We told her we did, so we got it out and played. After a few weeks of not feeling great and foggy thinking, we were all happy to see that Mom could keep up with the game. What a blessing.

I Found God today seeing my mom thinking clearer.

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Turning Around

Posted by eph21920 on October 26, 2022 in Answer, Family, Grateful, Hope, Life, Present, Problem, Struggles

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 he is getting some relief from the back pain he has been struggling with for several weeks. I think things are turning around for him too. It feels good to be on the upswing.

I Found God today in a feeling of turning around to better situations.

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Another Pianist

Posted by eph21920 on October 25, 2022 in Connected, Family, Music

Today another home health therapist came to visit mom and check on her swallowing. Mom can struggle chewing and swallowing, particularly meat. The therapist said everything is functioning pretty well and gave us some handy tips, such as eating several small meals during the day and stacking up the calories at meals when she is not having any troubles. During our conversation, the topic of music came up as it normally does. The therapist said she was a music major in college with an emphasis on piano before she changed to the medical field. She said she has always loved playing the piano. When she was younger, he mother had to call her away from playing to eat dinner. My mom had the same experiences. I asked the young woman if she had any pieces memorized. She said she did and I asked if she would play for us. After a little encouragement, she agreed. Before she left, she hopped on the grand piano and played “Maple Leaf Rag”. She was quite good. We enjoyed listening to her and she enjoyed playing on the beautiful piano.

I Found God today in another pianist.

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Blessed Hands

Posted by eph21920 on October 24, 2022 in Answer, Faith, Family, Grateful, Life, Music

My mom was frustrated today because she had a very hard time playing the piano. Not only that, the tune sounds off key to her. She is just unable to enjoy music the way she used to, but she keeps on trying. A part of me is angry that music has always been part of who she is and now it’s a struggle. But as we discussed this, mom said that God gave her 2 good hands for so many years. We talked about what a blessing she has been to help countless others enjoy music through her talents. As she played the organ or piano for every church she was part of -and others- she helped thousands of people connect with God. She does her best to see the positive in difficult situations. I continue to learn from her every day.

I Found God today in appreciation for the gifts he has given my mom.

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Better Day

Posted by eph21920 on October 23, 2022 in Family, Healing, Sick

Today my mom felt better than she has in a couple of weeks. She made it to church. She had an appetite and ate well. She did her exercises. She even got out her needlepoint and worked on that for a long time, something she hasn’t done in years. As a bonus, my brother called. He got COVID last week. He felt pretty lousy and had lost his sense of smell. But after several days he was feeling much better and could smell again. It was good to see my mom and brother having a good day.

I Found God today as my mom and brother felt better.

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Longest Uno

Posted by eph21920 on October 22, 2022 in Birthday, Children, Family, Fun, Laughter

Last night my son’s went out to celebrate their birthdays together. So my grandchildren came over to our house for a game night. We tried to think of a game that we could all play from age 7 to 90. My mom suggested cards. I remembered we had Uno and the boys liked playing that. When they came over, we talked about it, but my granddaughter said she didn’t like that game. Her older brother said she had never actually played it, so we talked her into it. Well, it turned into the longest game of Uno every played. It was funny for a while, then it was getting way to late, so we made up different rules so we could end the game. Tonight everyone came over so we could all celebrate my son’s birthdays all together. We laughed about the game and vowed never to play it again.

I Found God today playing a funny game with my grandchildren.

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Free Fine Arts

Posted by eph21920 on October 21, 2022 in Creation, Family, Fun, Happiness, New, Opportunity

The Fine Arts Center in the city has 2 free days each month. We wrote it on the calendar and talked about it this morning. My mom has not been feeling real well lately and didn’t really want to go. But after doing some exercises and getting dressed, she decided it would be good to get out of the house. I packed up the wheelchair and some lunch and we headed out. On the way to the center, mom noticed all the beautiful Fall colors and confirmed that it was the right decision. When we arrived at the Fine Arts Center, the first exhibit we stopped at was the Tactile Gallery. This room had various statues and sculptures made from different materials. They were all displayed on low counters that were easy to reach for someone in a wheelchair. The signs were posted in writing and in Braille. Visitors were allowed to touch the items on display, to experience the art in a way other than just sight. We did just that and talked about how each material felt. We saw a few other exhibits, including some examples of family altars for Dia de los Muertos. They were decorated and displayed photos of loved ones who had died. We came across a table that encouraged people to be artistic and create a postcard. There were pictures and colored paper to cut up and glue. We decided to make one for my sister and found a cute kitty that reminded us of the one she had in the past. Doing arts and crafts was an added bonus. Then we sat outside and had lunch. The weather was perfect. I was so glad my mom decided to get out and so was she. We saw, felt, and created beautiful works of art.

I Found God today in beautiful art.

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Hero of the Day

Posted by eph21920 on October 20, 2022 in Answer, Doctor, Grateful, Problem

This morning when I got my mom’s hearing aid out of the charger, I noticed that the dome – the rubber tip that goes into her ear – was missing. I looked around for a bit and didn’t find it, so didn’t worry too much about it. By this afternoon, mom was struggling even more than usual to hear. She said it felt like there was something in her ear. I was able to look inside the ear canal, and sure enough, there was the dome. It was deep enough in that I was afraid to try to get it out. I was just about to call her doctor when the Occupational Therapist came to the door. I told her the situation and she took a look. She said she could get the dome out, so I got her a pair of tweezers. It took seconds for her to pluck the tiny piece out of my mom’s ear. We were so grateful that we didn’t have to take mom to the doctor and go through some big ordeal. And mom could hear so much better. The therapist was definitely our hero of the day.

I Found God today in an extremely helpful young woman.

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New Techniques

Posted by eph21920 on October 19, 2022 in Answer, Doctor, Grateful, Home, Knowledge, New, Struggles

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 easy for her. It’s amazing how therapists know simple, different ways of doing things that make it so much easier. I am grateful for their knowledge and kindness.

I Found God today in helpful, knowledgeable, kind therapists.

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Jesus is Everywhere

Posted by eph21920 on October 18, 2022 in Jesus, Stranger

My mom had a therapist come over today to try to help her with daily activities and movement. She saw a picture of Jesus that was in my mom’s room. She told me about a Mercy Me concert that she took her daughter to last night. They were introducing their new album “Always Only Jesus”. The therapist said Jesus was definitely in the place last night. And He is here. Jesus truly is everywhere.

I Found God today in a Christian visitor who reminded me that Jesus is everywhere.

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