Yes, you might call them just that,but then again, you may disagree completely.The moments I speak of are those that I spent with some of the family yesterday.We tried to persuade the last two sisters to join us, but they had prior comittments,and we know, as for most,life happens.Nevertheless, it was my goal to get Mom and a couple of the sisters out of the house for a day. Mom and Vicki are getting in a lot of quality time together, but too much of even a good thing can get boring, and a constant togetherness is one of those things.We all love Mom, but she can get on the best set of nerves after a spell.She claims it's her age that causes a lot of the problem, but most of us know better.She is and always has been a very head strong person(although I really would love to say mule-headed and stubborn person) and she thinks her way is the only way to do anything.One can only be agreeable,in a pleasant manner,for so long.Even when dealing with a person with dementia.Especially when it is your Mother..That's why the caregiver,in most cases,needs a break and a release occasionally, and that is why the caregiver dies first in a lot of cases. The stress is overwhelming,eventhough most care givers would never admit they need a break.One of the sisters that did not join us,is,for the most part,Mom's number one care giver,and I understood completely, why she had other commitments.
Needless to say, we four,Mary,Vicki,Mom,and I had a wonderful visit.Since Mary is without a drivable vehicle,at the moment, I picked her up at her home, after picking up Mom and Vicki, then we made a stop for Mary,at the feed store for chicken and rabbit food.Then we were off to a couple of consignment shops.There was so much to see, two was all we could squeeze in.Vicki's main goal was mostly to get ideas for crafts she could make for her daughter,Beverly's booth, back home in North Carolina.Beverly hopes to open up a little shop some day,so she and her Mother can craft to their heart's content and hopefully make some extra pocket change.
That was a day or two ago.The following day, Mom was having pains in her chest area. A couple of the sisters rushed her to the doctor and then to the hospital. They ran tests and determined it was something on the order of acid reflux causing a gas of sorts in her chest area,thus making her feel like it was her heart. Pop had a smiliar problem once, requiring a hospital run, so we were familiar with that happening. Nevertheless, she has been under a lot of stress for awhile, and she has been crying a lot lately, so the doctor prescribed her an antidepressant.Hopefully, that will help more than anything. She is having such a hard time with her failing eyesight and memory and abillity to care for herself.
Nevertheless,she felt up to our preplanned trip to Louisville for a Celebration of Life for the husband of one of our first cousins.Several family members met at Mom's and drove up together. We had a great time visiting with the four girls and their families. The two brothers were not able to attend, but we got to meet many of the children of our first cousins.It turned out to be a nice trip, even though we thought,at first, we might need to cancel with Mom feeling poorly,but with the new medications,she was ready and eager to go.(but then, Mom is always ready to go somewhere/anywhere)
What a thoughtful thing to do. Life does get so busy and we get wrapped up in our own things -- but stopping to do something good like this is important.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your thoughtful comment about my mom Sue -- it does get challenging. :)