Mom's Old Age

 Mom lived at St. Monica's from October 2020 through January 2021, and then came to live with Louie and me.  Her dementia progressed, but she still enjoyed her usual things. Her version of Rummikub:

And Scrabble,

Puzzles,

 

Art,

 

And helping with chores:

Several weeks later, on May 30th, Mom and I were waiting for her hospital bed to arrive, and she was pretty anxious and agitated, but she had a lucid 10 minutes, so I sat with her and we held hands.  We talked about how lucky we were to be able to live together, and how lucky I felt to be able to take care of her.  I told her she had been such a good mother to me, and she said I had been good too, but I don't think she could think of the word, 'daughter.'  She thinks of me as her mom now.  We reminisced about all the trips we had taken together, camping with the girls, and later going to the water parks with the grandchildren.  We remembered playing Scrabble and Upwords every Saturday, and all our holiday meals together.  She remembered baking Christmas cookies together and making pickle relish.  I told her she has been the best Mom, and reminded her that when I was a kid, all my friends wanted to hang out at our house, because she was so nice.  I brought up to her that she had lately mentioned the topic of death several times, and told her that although I will miss her horribly,  I completely understand her not wanting to live like this, with so much sickness and disability.  I asked her if she felt ready to go to heaven and be with her mom and dad again, and she said she is ready and wants to go.  She mentioned being with her favorite cousins too, Jean, Irma, and 'Lloydie.' I told her that I will be terribly sad when she passes away, but that we are grownups now, and we will be okay.  I reminded her that I have had a good career, and I am all set financially, and that the kids are grown up and self-supporting too.  I reminded her that I have a wonderful husband to take care of me, and so she doesn't have to worry about me any more.  She told me she will love us forever, and that she will watch over us.  I said I will love her forever, and she will live on in my heart forever.  I wanted her to feel some relief from worry, at least about me.  That relief from anxiety is so elusive for her.  I hope she finds peace soon.

My mom went in and out of knowing my name, but she always seemed to know that I was her trusted person, that I loved her, cared for her, and was always there. My darling husband, who would always come and help me pick her up if she fell, (her son-in-law), was actually the last person whose name she never forgot. He was her big strong prince, her sweet Louie.  He had planted gladiolas in view of her window so that she would have something pretty to look at outside her window.

He is my prince too, and I soon realized he had planted this whole field of sunflowers outside OUR window too, with a row of contrasting red okra, so beautiful.  He wanted me to have something pretty to look at too.

Foot Surgery

 I had a little foot surgery yesterday and received this e-card from my friend Sandy Stuller. She is in my Art Group, and this card contains a little video with everything!  It has painting and paper-folding art, and springtime!  Click here to see it.  Thanks Sandy!

Here are my before-and-after pictures.

Mother's Day

 I had a very special Mother's Day this year.  Louie treated me to steak dinner the night before. Then I had several phone calls with both my girls, texting with Alexandra, Face Timing with Jessie's crew, cards, and THIS! An edible arrangement delivered on Sunday for Grandma Evie and me. 

We both enjoyed it (especially the chocolate-covered strawberries!)

Jessie's kids:

Wisconsin ADK State Conference

 I was a presenter at the Wisconsin ADK State Conference! It was held via Zoom.  There were almost 100 in attendance.

My session was an introduction to how to create a chapter website.  Who would have thought we were the only chapter (TAU) in the whole state to have our own website, which I created with Jessie's tutelage, of course! Here's a link to my presentation, which they recorded in two clips, for some reason:  Part 1 and Part 2.

Here also is a link to our cute little website. Alpha Delta Kappa (ADK) is a charitable sorority of teachers, and I am a member of the Racine Tau Chapter.  https://adktau.blogspot.com/

I received this lovely thank-you gift and note from the conference organizer Carol.

My Tau Chapter co-presidents sent this thank-you card.

And another member sent this one.

 

Carl and Pandora Visit Mom

 Carl and Pandora came and had a very nice visit with Mom. It was during the pandemic, so we had to wear masks until they are fully vaccinated.

Jessie and Jolie Visit

 We had another visit with all the kids! It was hard to get everybody comfortable and smiling all at the same time.

 We tried every configuration.

 

 

 

I need the one with 4 generations on Jessie's side.

 

Everyone played and visited.  Although we were so sad that Chuck had passed away, it was still good to be together.

 

 

 

 

 

Bradley, Ali, and James Visit

Bradley, Ali, and James came for a nice visit and James used his tricks to get us all to smile at the same time.  It was wonderful!

 

 

Chuck Kent Passed Away

Chuck passed away last week and his funeral service is today.  The kids did such a good job writing the obituary and planning the service.  They are devastated.  It's so sad that they have lost their father when they are still young.  My heart goes out to my girls, the grandchildren, and the sisters.  Here's the link to the obituary, and the service.

 

Jessie's Christmas Cookies

 Jessie made these.

 

Darla and Lynn Zoom

 My really good friends Darla and Lynn and I go way back to High School. This year we couldn't get together because of the pandemic, but Darla figured out how to set us up for a Zoom chat.  It was SO FUN!!

I sent each of them this card.  This is us!

Jolie and the Kids Visit

We had a surprise visit from Jolie, Bradley, and Alexandra yesterday.  It turned out very nice.  We had a nice lunch and freeze pops.  I didn't get pictures of all of it, but it was very nice.  Bradley made himself right at home.

We walked down to the farm and saw baby chicks, ate fresh watermelon, and picked blackberries.

 

Ali and Jolie drove the lawn tractor back to the house.

I got lots of snuggles.

Bradley liked the mask I cut from a T-shirt sleeve.

New Welding Cart

Sam Lopez, Louie's long-time friend is retiring from farming and has offered to let Louie go through his barns and warehouse and take anything he can use.  One of the things was a cart, which Louie built into a welding cart.

Caring for Mom

 I am caring for Mom at home following a hospitalization.  Here's our selfie along with a note she wrote on August 2, a few days before going to the hospital. 

 

 

Her helper Alma often reads aloud to Mom from the stories that she wrote.  You can see by her expression that it really takes her back to fond memories.

 

We never know how much time we have left.  She came home from the hospital on August 5, 2020, and I am staying with her 24/7 for a few days until she can stay alone (or not).  In the morning when she woke up, she told me about a dream.  She said (with a big smile),   

            "I just had a dream, and it was so real.  In my dream I knew I was going to Heaven today.  But I woke up, and you're here.  So I guess I am having another day!"   

I love my Mommy.    

 

 

 

 

           

New Potatoes

Delicious new potatoes and beans in cream sauce.  One of my Dad's favorites.

Another Gorgeous Sunrise

Weeding and Cultivating

It is weeding season, and Louie likes to keep his gardens looking perfect.  Here he is weeding on the way down to the farm.

And here is cultivating for one of the last times before the plants get too big. 

Lunch in the Orchard With Eileen

Eileen came to Racine and we took a walk down to the lake (with masks of course, because we are still in the Pandemic).  Then we had lunch in the orchard (socially distanced).  We split a bottle of wine and talked all afternoon.

A few weeks later we did it again.  It was so fun to see her, and have some company IN PERSON!