Coping... and fun...
Gattina asked me yesterday if I still have my verrrrrry talkative help come to ease the load with Mom. I do! Vada is still around - still as talkative - and still leading me to wonder if "normal" help is out there anywhere!? LOL! I'll tell ya ... it get's a little hairy sometimes! Last Friday I gave her money to take Mom to paint & pottery to paint a plate, and to go out for lunch. Well... I don't know how my instructions got misconstrued, but they came home having gone to Walmart - where Vada allowed ( i say "encouraged") Mom to buy 4 new T-shirts for herself... only ONE of which Mom would EVER in a million years wear! 3 of the shirts were from the teen/pre-teen department - and were Hannah Montana shirts! ON SALE for 3 bucks each!!! Vada thought they were a great DEAL! The other one only cost a dollar and is a turqoise stripe that Mom actually WILL wear. But honestly - Hannah Montana!!! For a 77 year old woman!!! In purple and black no less!!! THEY should have been 3 for a dollar! WE are taking them up to the Compassion Trailer at church this week! Some little teeny bopper is going to be very happy!
Soooooo... yea ... Vada still comes. But we have cut her back to ONE day a week! We did this because even with her coming twice and talking my ear off... I was still finding it impossible to keep up with housework and was starting to get really depressed because my house just kept getting dirtier and dirtier! Soooo, we decided to cut back the help by one day a week and get a cleaning team to come in one day a week. THIS is working out GREAT!!! This is week 3 of the cleaning team and I am sO much happier knowing that the house gets clean and (when I'm done painting) I have plenty of time to entertain Mom. Annnnd... the cleaning team is cheaper than the nursing help! It's good to try things. And if they don't work out, try something else! And it's always nice to have options! So, right now, life is pretty good!Now... a couple of cute/funny stories about Mom.
LAST NIGHT... Dennis gave Mom her final medication and took her up to bed. That last blue pill is what puts her to sleep - and keeps her asleep all night. But every now and then, for some UNKNOWN reason, it all goes a little haywire. Last night was one such night. She'd been in bed for about 30 minutes when suddenly she was up... and Dennis hadn't locked the bedroom door - so in she went! She had her sweatshirt with her and wanted to know if she could just put it right inside our door - just until morning. Dennis reminded her that she has a whooooole room and that she could just take it back in there --- and get back into bed. So she goes back into her room ... and Dennis gets up to make sure she actually makes it back into bed. Now, Luz's rocky/bouncy horse is in Mom's room. And it just happened to be wearing Mom's floppy hat. So when Dennis got in there, Mom was standing there talking to the horse ... asking it if it was SURE it didn't need to use the bathroom! LOL!
Yesterday Afternoon ... Amanda, Luz, Mathew & Krysti alllllllll took Mom out yesterday. They ran some errands and then they went to the park to play with Luz. Apparently Mom got bored because Mathew reports that she heaved a deep sigh and then said "Welp... it looks like I'm just gonna have to stay here all night!" ... ... ... Since Krysti was there the conversation continued. (Krysti hates to miss an opportunity!) "Why is that?" she asked. "Well," Mom explained, "that man that dropped me off here never has come back for me! And I really don't WANT to stay here all night." (Krysti continued) "Which man was that? Do you have his phone number? Maybe we can call him." "I can't remember his name now..." Mom said, "and I don't know his phone number." THANKFULLY Amanda jumped in at this point! She said "Well! Lucky for you we just happen to be going to your house when we leave here - and we'll take you with us!!!" That made mom soooooo happy! :)
posted by Melli at
1:01 AM
17 comment(s):
Oh I could have used some cleaning help tonight! Fritz got hit by a skunk! Yikes!
By
Anonymous, at
10/14/2008 10:40 PM
That is so strange that Vada would buy those shirts!! I agree with you about trying different things to see what works best. The cleaning team sounds great!!
LOL about your Mom stories!! I figured with my MIL I can get frustrated or just laugh things off -- and the latter is usually better for us all.
By
Anonymous, at
10/14/2008 10:45 PM
Melli this was a wonderful resume of your days ! It's so good that you have cleaning help. The little stories about Mom are as funny as the stories I hear from my friend Chantal whose brain was damaged in a car accident. He lately was in deep conversation with their dog and told him "see now she is angry, I told you not to eat her slipper ! But he also had done some more dangerous things. He saw a Renault garage on his way home, went in and bought a car !! Fortunately his signature isn't worth anything because Chantal has all the responsibility. He is just like a little boy of 6. She is such a couragious girl ! Imagine your own husband in this state ! She always tells me these little stories and then we can laugh together. I think that helps !
By
Ingrid, at
10/15/2008 1:47 AM
I mean Chantal's HUSBAND of course !
By
Ingrid, at
10/15/2008 1:48 AM
Funny story about your Mom and a funny image of you cleaning the couch with the whole vacuum - where ARE those attachments!
By
Carletta, at
10/15/2008 4:09 AM
Well you know, Melli, these stories would be funny IF they were not true!! I can only imagine what is going on inside her head..How horrible!! I would so HATE it if I were that way or someone that i loved was.
I cannot understand why that VADA bought those shirts..Crazy!! i think i would be looking for someone else but i am sure that is a hard thing to do...
By
Ramblins of a middle-aged goddess, at
10/15/2008 8:46 AM
I am with FFF above me... it's sad but humor helps to cope with the situation, I think.
Vada shouldn't get money in the future! and now I should do some cleaning around my place ::sigh::
By
MaR, at
10/15/2008 8:56 AM
Ah sweet friend, life is never boring in Maryland! Great stories...gotcha all prayed up as well as Mom. So glad for the cleaning crew. God is good.
By
Lazy Daisy, at
10/15/2008 9:56 AM
Ya'll are doing such a wonderful job with your MIL. She is included and, most importantly, not made to feel badly when she does the strange things that people with Alzheimer's do. Your MIL is so fortunate.
Loved the stories....they made me smile.
By
Jane, at
10/15/2008 11:37 AM
Good morning Melli, I love to read your stories and adventures of your MIL..she is one blessed lady to have a DIL like you..I would love to hire a house cleaner for once a week..as for Vada buying the Hannah Montana tee shirts, maybe she wishes them to be given to herself to wear..
Hugs, Baba
By
Baba, at
10/15/2008 11:52 AM
This was great that you could get a cleaning crew!! I bet this is a big help!! With help like Vada, Yikes!!!
Nancy got to go to the new wal- Greens in town on Friday and shop. She has talked about Halloween since August or before!!! Every day, Many, many, times!!
We didn't get Tooties Pops and this is making her upset! She got it in her head we were suppose to get them!! So she tells me about that OFTEN!!
Your comment about Thanksgiving over at my blog... Kelly LOVES to cook and bake and she does part of the dinner and my dil Becky does the other and my son Bill does the turkey.
All I do is bring the fluff salad!!
I made this when the kids were little and now they think we have to have this for Christmas, Easter, Fourth of July, you get the idea!!!
So only having to worry about one dish, I dearly love Thanksgiving!! Hugs Grams
By
Talk..to..Grams, at
10/15/2008 4:53 PM
It's a good thing you have the sense of humour you have Melli!! Anybody else would have gone bazurk by now!!
Hugs xxx
By
Jientje, at
10/15/2008 5:43 PM
Glad you got some help. Taking care of a mom can be overwhelming. Sometimes it is also funny. Betty's mother was a joy to take out because everywhere you went was new to her.( Even if we were there the day before)
So she never got bored. But she was stubborn. When we came back from taking both moms to Vegas she found a comb on the floor in the airport and would not let go of it. It was like a treasure. Betty was so upset because it was not very clean.Life with mom was one adventure after another. But now we are glad we had thsat time with them.
By
Dr.John, at
10/15/2008 7:03 PM
Yay for the cleaning crew!
By
Anonymous, at
10/16/2008 4:30 AM
At least you can look at the humor in it all. :) I used to have a cleaning lady, man I miss her.
By
Carmen, at
10/16/2008 8:11 AM
Love the couch pic. To be honest that's how I always clean my couch!
:)
By
Family Man, at
10/16/2008 3:37 PM
Too funny! Hannah Montana... I love it! :) Vada sounds like almost as much work as Mom! ;) That cleaning service sounds like a GREAT idea. Good thing you tried a new thing. :)
By
Unknown, at
10/18/2008 9:31 PM
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