It's amazing the things you find as you move your Mom from home to assisted living. Yesterday, Marcie and I went to organize the garage and go through the boxes we had set aside for another day. Going through the boxes, doing the look once, throw to the garbage pile we ran across.......

This small snapshot of Mom, taken when she was a young girl on the threshold of her life. I don't remember my mom as a young woman and this picture lets me see what a beautiful young lady she was.

A group picture taken at a dance...there's my fun loving Dad kicking up his foot in the front row with mom the second one in from the left. My Aunt and Uncle standing by theirselves in the top row. A good friend's wife next to Mom on the left. On the back is stamped "Rich Economy Photographing Service" Minneapolis. I would like to think this was taken in 1947 as a last party before Dad moved us to Washington.

A crossstitch sampler, finished but never framed. I'm going to frame it and hang it in my home.

Crocheted bits of tableclothes lets us wonder why they never were finished.

A brand new tin of tinkertoys reminding us of the days we built all kinds of things with them and Lincoln Logs.










Amongst all these little treasures from the past out fell a sales brochure in the form of a large postcard addressed to our Dad advertising the new beach front develpment of Sandy Point Shores. You could get a lot for $2500, less if you bought on a weekday and there wasn't but a few houses in the whole develpment. A nice bit of history when the point was first filled in, a canal to the bay dug or the boat house and ramp built.

I wonder what other reminders of the past will fall into our hands as we go through the many boxes and bags stored away in the trailer.

Season of Family

Where has the past two weeks disappeared to? Seems it was just the end of March and here it is the middle of April already.

Been some really busy days for us kids as we've been hauling garbage (1 1/2tons so far) to the dump while cleaning out Mom's place getting it ready to rent to one of my nephews. Phew, never realized there was so much trash in the trailer. It completely hid all the lovely things she's had for many years, like her bone china tea cups, a porcelin figurine given to her by her brother back when she turned 16, her silver service from their 25th wedding aniversary, photograph books full of snaps from from days back in MN pre 1947, log cabin blocks by the bazillion she's put together while sitting night after night and weekends alone. Something to keep her busy. Have to admit her trailer is so bad it's no wonder she never let anybody inside and was always standing on the porch ready to go when her ride appeared.

She's settling in and getting used to assited living. Has more company (her kids) in the past two weeks than the past two years. Is enjoying all the attention she has been getting and lacking in years past. How do you go visit your mom when there's no place to sit down from the stacks and stacks of stuff collected over the years. She looks around her apartment and wonders at "all this is for me". I've asked her what she wants from her trailer and she says why would I want such and such. It's yours I tell her, all your things that we don't want to leave or sell when we rent it out.

Yesterday I went to fetch her to the Dr for an after the fall check-up and evaluation for a power wheel chair. There she was in the activity room painting a birdhouse. She used to paint beautiful award winning art, now is happy with the little birdhouse. It keeps her busy, lots of things to do here but still misses her quilting group on Mondays. She goes to an exercise class, plays bingo, attends poetry readings, can get herself in her wheelchair down to the dining room and back to her apt. She's getting back to where she was prior to the fall, independent and ready to be on the go again. Most important she's happy and safe there.....her kids are fighting over her she says.

Going to the Doctor was tiring for both her and I. Me for the 4 times I had to manhandle her wheel chair in and out of the trunk. Her for the exertion of getting in and out of the car. As we were driving into town, she said it was a good thing that I had brought her purse with us as she needed to "give me something for gas". Makes me wonder how many times one of my sisters has taken her somewhere and charged her for the priviledge. I just told her if John couldn't afford the bit of gas he could just work another day overtime. vbg Who charges their mother for a ride to the doctor?

I'm happy my Mom is no longer living alone , where the personell think she's a very nice independant lady, not a crabby independant one. They've gone out of their way to assist her in her daily needs, making sure she takes her medicine, are there to help her into bed and see that she joins in with the daily activities going on, assist her down to and from her apt. She likes it there but wishes there were more residents. She doesn't miss the Seniour Center only on her quilting day. There's many activities to do and I've volunteered to do a quilting group if there's interest in one. I'm more than happy to give a day a week of my time to sit with the ladies there and talk quilting, stitch or whatever they want to do.

Gratitudes
My Mom's safety and the caretakers at her Assisted Living
Finding my former SIL and Niece after 28 years
Call from DH who is still bobbing around in the Ocean off Los Angeles
A beautiful sunny day
Time today for some hand quilting
My friends in blogland