Casts for the summer.

Mom broke her foot in three places a while back. She's been in a cast for over a month, and is not to put any weight on the limb at all. This has left her confined to one level of her home, one small room and the bathroom. To say that she is bored out of her mind would be like saying the moon is a little distance away.

I think, if it were winter, it wouldn't be quite so bad, since she would be trapped indoors anyway. In summer, with her flower beds going wild and things to be done, it has to be maddening. When Sandra and I have gone out, she has seemed okay, but being stuck like that is worse than any kind of prison sentence. A person can appeal a court decision. There is no recourse against an x-ray.

On the positive side of things, though, she won't need to have surgery done. There were some fears that she would need to have a pin put into her ankle. Fortunately, the x-rays taken last week show the bones mending properly. They put a new, smaller cast on her leg and told her to stay off of it for another month. If all goes well, they will then put her into a walking cast, and she won't have to worry about anything breaking if she bumps that foot.

Still, I am a little concerned about the stress of the whole thing. People just aren't built to be in tiny spaces for so long. Why else would it be the standard punishment for criminals? It cannot be good for her mental health.

Mom will be coming to visit here next week. Sandra and I will go out with the car and pick her up. It's my birthday, and I want her to come and spend some time with us. If the weather is good, we will be having a barbecue and cake outdoors, or sandwiches and treats in the apartment if it rains.

The leg will heal. I just hate the time that it is taking away from Mom.

Our Mellissa

A happy birthday to my second oldest niece, Mellissa-Anne!

She is another reminder that I don't have any little girls anymore. I actually have to look up to her, even if she isn't wearing heels, which she can now do confidently. I swear that one of these days I'm going to have to start standing on chairs. Being looked down on by these girls is depressing.

In all seriousness though, they have grown up much better than I could have hoped. For the most part, they are good, honest and independent young women. Mellissa has come farther than we had hoped when she was little. Maybe a rough start kind of helped get things going.

She's decided on a career already, and is working towards it. She is already looking at colleges, and she still has two more years of high school. If she is pulling in Cs, she wants to be bringing home a B. If she's getting Bs, she wants to shoot for the A. This isn't a little girl anymore, this is a full blown young woman.

We are all proud of how far you've come Mellissa, and are behind you, wherever you decide to go. Just remember to come back and visit once in a while.

They grow up so fast.

My youngest niece just turned fifteen yesterday. Fifteen. It's hard to wrap my head around the idea that we don't have any little girls anymore. Any day now she could start bringing home, gasp, boys.

Sure, it's a cliche, but it seems like just yesterday we saw her going to school for the first time. She used to sit in the laundry basket and let her sisters pull her around the house. She screamed when you told her it was bath time and then screamed when you told her to get out of that cold, filthy water.

Barbie dolls were replaced by mp3s and clothing accessories.

On the other hand, our baby isn't a baby anymore either.

As the youngest, we pampered her a bit too much, so she was never very independent. Now she is able to get out and do things on her own more. At her sister's graduation, she sat down the row, so that her uncle and aunt would have seats. Surrounded by strangers, and she was calm and respectful. Something like that would have thrown her into a sheer panic attack just a few months ago.

I am very proud of my Darling Darlene. She's come such a long way. I can't wait to see how far she goes.

Family Update

Happy Father's Day, everyone. It has dawned nice and sunny, so let's get out there and take advantage of it shall we?

As some of you may know, I spent several days this last week visiting with my grandparents. They have both been experiencing medical issues, so my mother wants to go up to see them as often as she can. She needed someone to drive her, with her back not being so good, so I went up and had a look for myself.

Grandma is much better. She is up and about, and very much her usual self. She doesn't seem to have had any lasting side effects from her heart attack. The doctors have told her to watch her diet, and try to keep stress to a minimum. My aunts are being wonderful about going out to the house to help her with every little thing that they might need.

Uncle Bill (as we call my grandfather) is definitely not well. Still, he isn't quite as bad off as I had believed. While he requires constant oxygen and naps a lot more than he is awake, when he is up, he is as feisty as ever, and ready to cause trouble. They say that you can't keep a good man down. In my experience, the same goes for a naughty little old man. He can even get out on his electric scooter and go for rides.

My mother's Aunt Vi passed away about a week before we went up to visit. The internment was held at the cemetery on the Wednesday. I went with my mother to represent my grandmother, who wasn't up to a trip of that length. A fair number of the family made it, considering the plot is way out back of beyond in a sleepy little hamlet called Arden.

I never really knew that side very well. All I can really say for sure is that they have certain quirks, like all of us do.

At any rate, the family is doing as well as can possibly be expected.

Use the day to spend time with your families. We only get to borrow them for a short time.

Don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.

I'm going to visit my grandparents next week. They live some distance from here, so I don't get up to see them very often. I was writing fairly regularly at one point, but haven't for a while.

My grandfather is very ill at the present. His lungs have just about quit on him, the result of many years of smoking. The hospital released him when it became clear that there was nothing they could do for him. He is pretty much prepared of that.

What we weren't really prepared for was my grandmother having a heart attack. She tried to get up from bed one morning and just fell over. Fortunately, she has family that comes in on a regular basis. Her step daughter found her and got her to the hospital.

She's made a full recovery now, and is in pretty good shape for a woman of her age.

It just reminds me that we often take our family for granted. I wish I had a nickle for ever time I have heard somebody say, "I wish I had gotten to know him/her better." Why do we wait until loss to realize somebody's importance to us? Sudden loss is the worst kind, but even a lingering death sometimes seems to catch us off guard.

With Father's Day coming up, maybe now would be a good time to think about those family members you haven't spoken to in a while.

Mother-in-law update

My mother-in-law may have a new apartment. She and Sandra's sister went to see it yesterday. It's a beautiful two bedroom place in a security building geared toward seniors. It has a lot of natural light, and the landlord take care of the garbage and recycling, so she won't even have to deal with that.
She sounded very excited about it when she phoned here. She was actually thinking about where she would put things. That's a good sign. Every other time she's seen a place, she's hemmed and hawed about it, and then decided against it for one reason or another.
The big sticking point with her on this place was the stairs. She didn't want anyone to think that she took this place because she didn't want me to visit. (I have trouble with stairs, and avoid them when I can.) I assured her that I could manage a couple of flights once a week for the sake of visiting with her. It's silly of her to put so much thought into my ability to access an apartment. As long as she's okay with the steps, that's all that matters.
It will be nice to see her in a good, safe and clean apartment though. I hate the idea of her staying someplace she doesn't like because the housing authority can't get off their butts and get one of the apartments ready for her. Besides, the housing units aren't nearly as nice as this place. Sandra and I actually saw this one being built.
Mary will have a nice river view from her balcony doors. She'll be able to go to see her friends, and sometimes have one stay overnight, once she gets a spare bed that is.
I've got my fingers crossed. If she passes this one up, I may have to pinch her.

My mother-in-law, continued

As I have written before, my mother-in-law has been living alone for just over a month now. Being a somewhat older woman, my wife and I worry about her.
Since my last post about her, she has moved into her brother-in-law's home. He and his wife have gone away for several months, and offered her the use of the house. I am glad she accepted. It brings her closer to Sandra and I, to the point that we can visit with her once each week.
The house is actually and ideal spot for her, for the time being. She is right next door to one of her best friends. If it were not for the garage and a hedge, they could wave to each other from the kitchen windows. She is near good shopping and her church.
It's a good situation for Percy too. Leaving your home unattended for any length of time is rather nerve wracking. Now he knows that there will be someone in the house each night. There will be cars in and out of the driveway, deterring thieves. If Mary weren't there, he would have to rely on timers and occasional visits by a neighbour.
Like I have suggested, it's a win-win situation.
Sandra and I have been over to the house once already. I can see where our visits will be a good thing. The carpet is rather thick, and I don't know if Mary is up to vacuuming them. There are a lot of chairs that will have to be moved to do a good cleaning job. The bath is something she definitely cannot do herself, because of the sliding shower doors. She cannot bed that way for medical reasons, so I will clean out the tub for her.
I think the best part of her being in Morrisburg is that Sandra can see her often. They might not always see eye-to-eye on things, but I know that they miss each other terribly. And as I have said, Sandra worries about her. Sandra gets to have her mother back, and I get to look after the both of them.
The down side is that Mary does not really feel at home in the house. If she had moved her things into an empty space, it would be different, but as it stands, she sometimes feels like an intruder. All of Marilyn and Percy's things are there, and she doesn't want to mess with the settings on things. I can understand her position. I'd feel the same way.
Once she is in a place of her own, she will be even better off. Sandra will be more content, and eventually, all will be right with the world. Well, sort of.