So, I spent some time this week in Atlanta - which feels like I'm a broken record, but there you have it. My mission was to take Mom to the pulmonologist, done. I was supposed to get her to the audiologist to have her new hearing aids fitted - that was a no-go - they had shipped, but not arrived. So instead, we got her a pedicure. Similar process, different body part.
The biggest element to the time there was getting her moved into Memory Care - and that went really, really well. Sort of.
She ended up going to the ER last week for pneumonia and cystitis. They admitted her for about five days, pumped her full of antibiotics and released her. So, I was able to get her furniture moved before she got back to the facility. I thought the room change would really throw her, and I was trying to soften the blow.
Well, the bigger blow is that she doesn't remember having lived there the past three months at all. So, you know - a complete reboot. I spent a lot of time explaining what had happened in July/August to get us here. She asked several times when she was going home. She asked whether she still had any dogs. By the time we drove the five miles from hospital to her community, she had forgotten she was in the hospital. At one point, when we reminded her she was living in this apartment at her community, she looked me dead in the eye and asked, "Do my children know?" I told her they did, and thought it was a good idea, as it would keep her safe.
That all sounds bleak, but here's a bright spot - very sweet, really. Driving home from her pulmonologist, I was explaining to her what the rest of her day was going to entail, in detail and on repeat. I ended up overshooting my exit, so I took one north of town rather than south of town. We turned onto Mimosa Boulevard, and she said, "Oh, are we going to pick someone up from Kindergarten?" My sister and I both went to Kindergarten at First Baptist, then elementary school across the street on Mimosa Boulevard. Neither school is visible at that end of the street - but her spatial/visual cues triggered, and she knew. I told her I didn't have kids, and they frown on you picking up someone else's student. She agreed, so we opted to just go back to the community.
Of all the things to remember, that was a good one.
Meanwhile, two miles away at my childhood home (and her residence of 53 years), Cindy is setting up for an estate sale. We found Cindy by a recommendation, and she is just the best. She is pulling out everything and making it pretty, classifying things into types, bundles, pricing things. I love seeing all of it. It's hard, but I love it. I told her last night it was like a little department store of my life.
I think it's fun to look at contextual clues and see what you can discover. Like, there's a lot of bird and fish books, fishing poles, camping gear, duck calls, pocket knives that she has clustered together appealingly. Tablescapes of Christmas plates and linens, etc. There's just a lot of joy in seeing great piles of shiny pots and pans, fat stacks of old linens, a row of my mother's tiny shoes. Mom is very petite - we look considerably alike, but imagine one of those sets of Matryoshka dolls. I'm about two or three bigger than her. But yes, I look like her. Several nurses and techs at her facility that I have never met have said, "You must be Lucy's daughter!" Yep, it's true.
Anyway, it's a lot to take in. Pleasant, but a little melancholy. It made me feel grateful that I have had so many great experiences in that home, that city, those people. But also grateful to have moved away, and for the opportunity to come back. At least for now.
And as you know, I like to carve out a little time that's just for me - and I did. I ended up going to Gwinnett County for a visit to Spaland. Spaland is the competitor to Jeju Spa - the place I went almost a year ago for a little me time.
I like the idea of exfoliating annually around my birthday. It's a good way to renew myself, and I feel like a snake, molting off my old year, starting fresh.
So I signed up for the deluxe scrub, and the nice lady sloughed off piles of old epidermis. Then she oiled me up, applied a face mask, washed my hair, removed my mask and released me into the wild. Since I was short on time, I wandered into the sauna area briefly to check that out. They have bunch of different saunas, each for a specific type of wellness and detox. There was also some infared light therapy, a food court, and massages available. Of the offerings, I went straight into the Ice Sauna. It's a room, tiled in light blues and whites that is kept cold. I love it. When I am stressed out, I dream about the Ice Sauna - lying on the cold tile and literally chilling out. It's my favorite. I don't love the heated rooms. I need to build up a tolerance.
Anyway, it was time well spent, and I'm glad I did it. I feel like a newborn dolphin, or a newly inflated balloon.
Speaking of ballooning, my weight has crept up a few little pounds, and I need that to stop. It's all my fault, and I know what to do. And I can do it. And I will. But daaaaamn, it would be nice to be able to eat whatever I want without repercussions.
Especially with all the food holidays coming up.
Speaking of which, we will be doing Thanksgiving with the blended fam down in Atlanta. I don't believe we'll have cooking vessels after the estate sale. So, we'll see. It may be a store-bought season. Or...hey, I wonder if Chick-fil-A will let you buy a tray of their mac and cheese? Quick web search reveals yes, you can. Awesome!!!
Whatever, man. It's just Thanksgiving - and it's New Thanksgiving - the post-Dad era. So, we'll see.
Also, a small tray of Chick-fil-A mac and cheese contains about 5000 calories - serves 10. So, that's probably not good for you. But it is good.
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