Dreaming of Clouds

It has been a busy two weeks as I'm sure you can all well imagine. When I last posted the decision had been made to place my Mom in a nursing home. On Monday the 9th I spent the day making the arrangements, filling out form after form. I went by the solicitors office to pick up the POA and Medical POA they had on file. The cabinet was locked that they were kept in and no one knew where the key was. I had to get new ones drawn up and get my mother to sign. She only hesitated for a minute, questioning why she had to go into a nursing home. I very firmly explained to her why. That returning home at this time was not an option. The Doctors and family were all in agreement. This was best for her. The Doctor was out in the hallway, he overheard me, he had a laugh. He was like – wow, ” I thought you'd need my help, most families leave it up to the doctor to do all the talk. You didn't need my help at all”.
On April 10th she was wheeled down from her hospital room to her new room (her new home) at The Meadows. I could tell she was impressed with what she saw. It really is a nice facility. It is operated by the hospital and is spotless. The staff are all so nice and helpful. They do so much to make the transition easy and to take the burden of care off the family.
I had spent the morning bringing items from her home to decorate and make her feel more at ease. Photos, art, knick-knacks and a quilt her mother made. She smiled as she saw these things.
She has now been there for ten days. She looks better than she has looked in months. She is eating well, taking her meds when prescribed, she is getting rehab to get her stronger and she has people all around her to talk to. They have activities everyday, she is having fun. I don't think she could tell you the last time she had fun. She seems content, content that this will be her final home.
I had to miss two days of work to get Mom all registered, moved and settled at The Meadows. Returning to work I found a disaster on my desk and piles of work waiting. Nothing had been done in my absence. I was not impressed. One of the things I have discussed with my employers is that there should always be someone (if not several) trained to step in and do your job when a crisis arises. The last thing I had on my mind during those two days was work and what would be waiting when I came back. I didn't expect them to do everything, they do have their own jobs to do too. But just the basic necessary tasks had not been done. I really didn't need the stress. I worked my arse off and did get mostly caught up by Friday 5:00 pm.
During the week Abate also had the district track meet, I did not make it, he did not qualify for Regionals. He did however run his best times ever in the 1600m and 3200m.
Our routine also now has changed. Mornings I usually took 15 min while the kids finished getting ready to pop up to Moms house to check on her, this was no longer necessary. In the evenings now I have to stop and feed her dog until we can find a new home for him. I also go visit her several nights a week and on weekends. Visits to the gym are quickly becoming a distant memory. I'm not to worried yet as I have been so busy with numerous projects I think I am staying fit.
This weekend brings on a new rather unexpected project. Our rent house (Carrie and Caleb's former home) is vacant. It was left in really bad condition by someone we thought would be a long term tenant and that would look after the house. We had thought we would sell it, but after a closer inspection it needs too many repairs to fetch the price we would like to get so now we need to rent it again. Major cleaning, repairs and some much needed maintenance we hope in a few weeks to get a new tenant. I think it will rent easily enough as there re few rentals available in town at the moment. It was just another problem I didn't need.
The six week grading period was drawing to a close last week. I was worried about Fantu as she was failing science misreably. Her other grades were looking good. I shouldn't have worried. She brought it up. She brought it up higher than last time. We pay the kids $1 for each point they bring their grades up from one 6-week period to the next. Fantu made $32. Abate $24.
Abate also brought home big news this week as he was named to the 2nd -Team All-District Soccer. An Amazing accomplishment for a freshman. Wow am I blessed with these two kids or what?
It has been a time with too much on my plate. I struggle to cope with it all. I got daily calls the first week from the staff at the Meadows as they had questions or needed something reassuring to tell my Mom on something that was worrying her. The kids schedules were their usual hectic crazy times, and home and work kept up the normal(?) demands. I knew I needed to make a dream become reality. Summer vacation. Cloudcroft New Mexico, a cabin in the mountains. Hiking, biking, cooler temps in the middle of summer, time with the kids with no distractions. I booked us a beautiful cabin that backs onto the Lincoln National Forest. The trails are right outside our back door. 9000 ft elevation. I was going to book 5 days, but a special deal allowed me to book 7. A week in the mountains and just a short 30 minute drive the desert of White Sands. I immediately relaxed, I felt calm. I will be in heaven, I will be in the clouds.