Meanderings...

This morning it is rainy. A great day to sleep in...which is what I wanted my body to do. However, the brain gets to working and the body just can't get back to sleep.

I've had a few thoughts running through my brain I wanted to get down so I could remember them for the future. Let's see...what were they...

Sunday afternoon I went to visit mom after all the Church meetings. It was after lunch and she had been taken to her room to rest. She was in bed asleep when I got to her room. I moved the wheels chairs around and got to the side of her bed so I could just look at her.

She stirred after a bit. I saw this as my opportunity to check on her a bit. I usually kiss her forehead, squeeze her hands, and touch the back of her neck. I checking to be sure she has no fever or is not chilled. She can't tell me how she is feeling so you have to use the best 'mother methods' you have. That would be your hands and eyes and ears.

Mimi had no fever but she wouldn't look right at me this time at all. She was mumbling something with no coherent words. However, she was talking in her own way to someone out in front of us. Occasionally she would reach out her hand toward them. Then she would made sounds like she didn't feel good. She also would tremble almost like a spasm with her hands. I would hold her hand more firmly so she knew someone was there. There she would calm a bit. She would drift off to sleep for a minute or two. I just sat on the side of her bed and watched as she went through these various moments. Eventually she settled back into a good sleep.

It occurred to me as I watched my mom go through these feelings and emotions that she might pass away and no one be there. It brought a lot of sorrow to me. I really, really, really, don't want her to be alone when that happens. I don't know if it is selfish of me or not but I'm praying that circumstances will be such that I can be by her side when she passes. I really don't want her to be alone.

After visiting mom and went to check on Papa and give him a haircut. We visited and put together our program for Wednesday. I told him I did not think Mimi was good at all when I visited her that day.

Papa went to feed Mimi dinner later on Sunday. He usually feeds her lunch but on Sunday's we are in Church so he feed her dinner at 5pm instead. He called me to say he got two bites in her and she hurled all over him and everthing else. He was at home to clean up but he wanted me to know she was not doing well.

Papa called the nursing home after he cleaned up and they told him to stay home. They had her settled down and were watching her closely. There was really nothing to be alarmed about and she was okay for now. Then later in the evening the called Papa back again and said she was talking again a bit more normally and they felt she was okay at that point.

What a journey. We both were assured she didn't need us to be there during the night.

Yesterday Claude and a skin cancer frozen off his ear. Maybe the term should be burned but they put something on it that freezes it so the cancer cells die. As he left I was reminded that a year or so ago I was taking Papa to the hospital for surgery to take part of his ear out that was full of cancer. Interesting how life repeats itself in many ways.

I was able to visit to friends yesterday in their homes. It was pleasant to sit in their homes and just talk. I told the Brunty's when I was leaving their home that I feel like I'm in the 'Old South' of my childhood when I leave there. My memory is of family or friends or a combination of both sit on the porch or in the yard or in the house if the weather required that and just visiting. It wasn't about anything specific. You had some lemonade to drink or a soda pop and you always had homemade candy or cookies or cake that Mimi kept just in case someone popped in for a visit. I loved that feeling. Children were to be seen and not heard in those days. We could sit quietly and listen but we didn't speak a lot. But I loved the feeling and truly enjoyed listening to those adults share their love and friendship in words. It is a pleasant and dear memory and I felt it yesterday and I did my visiting teaching and sat in these two homes.

The smoker needs to have it's story continued. A month or so back I shared that the smoker was in the middle of the upper deck of our home when we woke up one Sunday morning. I also shared that neither of us put it there and it must have been that other family that lives in our home that we never see that moves things so we can't find them.

Sunday night we had a really good rain storm. Lots of lightening and lots of strong winds. Claude and I were watching TV and heard a loud crash. It was almost like a bolt of lightening hit the house but there was not a bolt of lightening at that point. I looked at Claude and said, "What was that? Should we check?" We both got up and headed to the door from the living room to the upper deck. There was the smoker spread eagle on the deck. The cover was off and the wind was whipping it around. The lid was off and ashes were on the deck. The rain was coming down in torrents. Claude hurried out and grabbed the cover before it blew away and headed down the hill. He stored them in the garage. Then he hurried back out to get the smoker and tuck it in the garage.

It amazes me that this smoker can't stay tucked up against a corner by the house on the deck. We have a bay-like windown in the breakfast room along this upper deck. There is a sort-of corner right there and the smokers sits in that corner. It is always covered with its plastic cover to protect it. Right beside it sits this cheap little green plastic table. It can't be but a foot square on the top with 4 little thing legs. Now, if the wind were going to blow something away, I would think it would be this little stool. But nooooooo, it is the heavy smoker.

I can't wait to see where the smoker decides to go next. Right now it is still in the garage. We are having a few more rain showers, for which we are grateful! When the weather clears we'll put it back out on the deck and see where it choses to travel...on it's own...from there.

Claude is awake so I'm headed upstairs for breakfast and a real start to a day at home. We have some kind of dinner tonight we are going to. I think this one is the Bluegrass Area District Development (ADD) dinner. I hope their chicken is better that the dinner we went to last week. Just sayin'...if your going to choose chicken, please have it be not so dry!!!