Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Mom's view


So, here's mom getting ready to eat her lunch.  She's having Gerber mashed meat stuff (I think it was chicken this time.)  She really likes those Gerber mixes and she always eats them first.  I tasted them and I can't stand them.  Once I put salt and pepper on them to make them "palatable" and she shuddered when she took a bite.  So, now I just heat them up the way they are.  She's also having sweet potatoes grown deliciously in South Carolina and Basmati white rice. There is watered down cranberry juice to drink and a slice of chocolate cake for desert.  (I bribe her with chocolate since she gets very mad at me when I move her from bed to commode to chair.)

Just before time for lunch, the caseworker from Allegheny County Area Agency on the Aging called and offered to come out today instead of tomorrow.  He knew that I was worried about having two things going on tomorrow - both Mom's doctor appointment AND the intake for Allegheny County AAA.  After I made the doctor appointment, I had called and asked at the county about how long it would take for the home visit, and mentioned that I was worried about getting Mommy to the doctor on time.

So, today, Richard (her intake caseworker) had a cancellation, and he called and asked if he could swing by today instead of tomorrow, and I said yes, of course and breathed a sigh of relief about the appointments and (also of course) then got myself all worried about having the house and Mommy "government official ready" in an hour and a half.

Then, naturally, Mom didn't want to get off the commode and move over to the recliner.  And, she got really upset about having to hurry up, or having to move from the commode at all, but I thought to myself if Richard came while she was still sitting there and asked me, "How long has she been sitting here, and I said, oh . . . over an hour . . . " he would think - and rightly so - that I wasn't taking very good care of her.  So, as it got closer and closer to the time he was going to show up, I told her that it was time to move and she was not happy.

That's why she is looking so frustrated at her food.  And, it is also why there is a slice of chocolate cake there.

After she started eating, I sat by her and read "Little House in the Big Woods" aloud.  I decided that Mom's emotional health was more important than impressing Richard by having my house in perfect order.  By the time he arrived, we'd read for several minutes and she was feeling better about life.

He completed her intake and he was so nice.  He said that I was very organized.  HA.  Only about paperwork and Mommy stuff -  clearly he hadn't paid much attention to my sink full of dishes when he walked through the kitchen!  (The dishes I'd decided not to wash so I could read to Mommy instead.)

At any rate, that appointment is taken care of, and now tomorrow we have only the doctor visit to get through.

I thought you might like to see what Mom gets to see when she's sitting in her recliner.  It's a nicer view than the doorless closet that is almost always the background for pictures I take of her.

Although, it's pretty cluttered too - with stuff and more stuff, but I think the pictures hanging on the wall that grandchildren drew and painted for her are wonderful.  I snapped the above picture today just after I gave her lunch. You can see the tips of her toes in the slippers Pete bought for her at the bottom edge of the picture.

Here's a pic of the other side of the room.  I just went in and took this one now.  As you can see, Mommy is dozing in her recliner.  It's very warm in her room, and Christmas carols are playing on the CD player.  "Noel" is on as I snap the picture.

There.  Now you can see what she sees.




2 comments:

  1. I just wrote a great comment and it got lost in the Google verification process. My butterfingers hit cancel instead of submit! :( Anyway glad today went well and love the room!

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  2. Grandmas room looks great! And I wish I got bribed with chocolate cake! :P jk

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