Every other Monday, Connie arrives at 9am ready to clean house or work in flower beds...Spring has always been a time to clean the house, so while she starts the vacuuming, I start moving "clutter" out of her way...She concentrates on the front porch, so we can move the indoor plants outside for the summer...But first I must wash the big picture window, that is my view every morning...We do this dance for a couple of hours, before I need a break...I leave her cleaning the kitchen and bathroom area, and I take a break with Rusty on the deck...He has been in the garage/shop making screens for the basement windows in his house in Enterprise...On these little breaks, we try to prioritize jobs at his house and jobs here on Barton Heights...Back in the house Connie is finished and waves "goodbye" as she dashes for her car...Whew!
.....After that hospital stay, Herb did regain strength and was able, with the walker, to get to the bathroom, for a shave/shower and took care of his personal needs...Also he looked forward to either a massage or acupuncture each week and somehow managed to get up stairs and onto the treatment table...He loved "the girls" and we will be forever grateful for the care and healing they gave him...At home, in one short month he could no longer remember how to sort his daily pills into AM and PM slots, nor could he figure out the solitaire game that he had played for 2 years, and telling time was a complete jumble as was the day of the month or week...And to compound all of this, a part of his mind still told him that he could do everything that he had always done, such as walk to the mail box, back the car out of the garage and navigate our basement stairs...The job Rusty and I had, was trying to explain that it was no longer safe for him to do these things...That only increased his frustration and agitation...We walked a fine line.
Why am I writing this? First it needs to be talked about and hopefully it will help me get through the days ahead...Second, many people are going through this same thing and I've been asking for two years, do we have a support group in the county? NO, we had one but it went away with COVID...I have a busy day ahead, must figure out what we are having for dinner, which brings up something I did yesterday...When setting the table for dinner I picked up "3" napkins, folded then and put them on the table before my mind said, "Della, you only need "2"...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
Love you Mom!
ReplyDeleteLove you TOO.
DeleteRobert and I appreciate the blog writing you are doing. The gardening. housework etc needs tending each day, I told Robert after Jacob graduated this life that I was never so grateful for dirty dishes. It forced me to keep moving each day! Never in my life would I ever have thought that! I am so glad to hear stories of Herb, even the painful ones as it makes his life more real and pulls our hearts in closer to you. What a blessing to have family that now lives so much closer! So good to hear hiw much your children love you and how they help lift you. We love you! Hope the writing helps, ✍️ 🙏 I bet it will! Robert says HELLO! LOVE YOU! We are thinking of you and have you in our prayers. Bless you. Enjoy your mountain and your family!
ReplyDeleteThank you for chatting in, yes we have a loving family and Herb knew they would be here to help me, when he no longer could. Love and Hugs to you.
DeleteSo glad you can use your lovely prose to heal and inform. I wish nothing but the best for you and yours, Idella. Much love from a girl who learned to waterski on the back of Herb’s boat one summer before moving far away.
ReplyDeleteThank you Laurie, I love hearing about those times on Wallowa Lake, it was our weekend home and Herb loved pulling "kids" on water skis...Love and Hugs to you.
DeleteDella, I used to get an email whenever you wrote on your blog. Have been trying to figure out how to make that happen again. Any ideas? Your May 30th entry is spot on, with bravery and courage that will help your readers. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThanks Pat, always love your encouraging comments...Keeps me writing. Love to you.
DeleteI’m new to this blog world—now I love reading your blog. You bring tears to my eyes with almost every one I read. I love you. It’s so good seeing from our window or when I’m outside working in the garden—Rusty doing the mowing and other things outside that I used to see Herb doing. What a wonderful son.
ReplyDeleteThanks Marsha, love having you read my writing, it is hard to know how much to share, but it makes me feel better to put it on "paper." Hugs to you dear friend and yes, somehow we managed to raise two wonderful kids.
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