End of August

This summer, Mom and Grandad have been on the move from Kansas through Colorado to New Mexico.

10:30 pm 1 August 2014:  Happy Birthday to a grand dad! When his friend Billie cancelled taking him to dinner at Mission Deli in Rocky Ford, Grandad chose to take GranCCY with him for a birthday dinner in Pueblo.

2:12 am 2 August 2014:  Mom just remembered that Dr. Hess told her to take his van and stay away from his house today.  He has family visiting from out of town, and he doesn't want to risk their seeing her in his house.  This is good.  It means that she can take a day of rest from moving and work in her new office.  Ruth will stay and rest in the new apartment with GranCCY.

4:00 am 4 August 2014:  Mom began to imagine her new apartment in La Junta, Colorado, becoming a home away from home, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

12:27 am 6 August 2014:  Mom and R.T.Lee maintain a midnight watch throughout the house at 1001 Garfield Avenue, while Grandad tries to sleep.  He is preparing himself to be at work for Scaff Brothers at 6:30 am.  She works for Grandad RSVP.

10:45 am 7 August 2014:  I AM STILL HELPING MOM MOVE.  Grandad is scurrying to make weather related household repairs, to hire others to do the gardening that he can no longer manage, and to confront the unreasonable intrusions that disrupt his rest at night.

5:30 am 8 August 2014:  Mom has locked herself in at home with her Gateway laptop computer -- working in her pjs again!  Grandad has been ill, and we are hoping that he will call this a "sick" day (time out day) to stay home and rest. By 9:30 AM, he had.  Of course that doesn't mean he stayed in bed!  He went out for his usual coffee and paper.  He gathered and put out the trash.  He met his yard man outside and supervised that work. He fielded many phone calls including one in which he told Elsa, "That's none of your business." (She had asked if Ruth sleeps on the floor of her apartment.)  He asked Ruth to cook breakfast.  She did.  He met a contractor about repairing the roof of his house.

By noon Mom had returned from her business in Pueblo -- relieving Ruth.

By 3:30 pm she and Grandad had made a plan to spend this weekend getting ready for the movers to come on Monday morning.  For the rest of the day, Mom explored IT with Charlie's Angels.  Next morning she began to execute the plan.

Saturday 9 August 2014 was a day of rest and independence.  Grandad spent it making his garden beautiful! Mom helped in the morning.  She went to dinner with her Chinese friends in the afternoon.

3:33 am 10 August 2014:
Mom has been up since shortly after midnight.  It is now 6:16 am, and Grandad too is up.  

Monday 11 August 2014:  We're all three taking the long view.

Wednesday 13 August 2014:  Grandad and Ruth have begun to recover from the past eight months of playing Fruit Basket Up Set.

8 pm 14 August 2014:  Two old dogs are learning new tricks!  Drs. Hess and Crisp-Yeager survived another rugged day in their relationSHIP.  They traveled to Pueblo, Colorado where she is setting up her business.  They thoroughly discussed the differences in their priorities and the relationship between her business in New Mexico and her business in Colorado.  Returning home after lunch, they napped for a while -- then resolved their differences.

Friday 15 August 2014:  Today is the ides (or tipping point) of the month.  We are addressing this fact in metaphor.  From here it is all down hill, racer!

Saturday 16 August 2014:
Grandad shared his day of rest with Mom.  He took delight in cooking lunch, focusing on his kitchen.  She read and reviewed in her own mind a conversation they had been having about the differences in their priorities.  They slept -- resting up for Sunday, a day to spend with family and THEIR GARDEN.

Tuesday noon 19 August 2014:  It's down hill from here, racer.
Billie is on call as her grandchildren, who live in Swink, Colorado,  start school again tomorrow.  Ruth spent her first night in Carolyn's new apartment, and she met Grandad for breakfast and to help him with his shopping this morning.  NOW CAROLYN IS BACK DOING IT IN HER OFFICE while GranCCY and Grandad rest.

Wednesday 20 August 2014

5:30 am Thursday 21 August 2014:  With everyone going his/her own way today, we will be covering a lot of ground.  Grandad  has Archives and Alzheimer support group meetings.  Carolyn is coordinating with a confidential meeting of her own, and Ruth is staying at home to care for CYFFR PETS.

Saturday 23 August 2014
9 PM MDT: Mom began rewriting her own autobiography from the POV of seventy-two years.

Thursday NOON 28 August 2014:  Mom and Grandad are on track for becoming correspondents for reals.

2:05 am Saturday 30 August 2014:  Mom has just completed her Missy business of August.
7:30 am Sunday 31 August 2014:  Mom has drafted her invitation for Thanksgiving.