I Should Be Writing More but. . .

Windows are proving scarce.

So I take pictures of cold coffee and the remnants of a Saturday breakfast. And write a note on my hand to make sure to post about this new chapter with mom.

And then a week goes by.

With my

Commute and lunch I'm gone eleven hours each day. When I come home it's prep dinner and then eat and then clean up.

Then we go through the mail and I help with any challenges or check her computer for stupid anti-viral pop up windows that are confusing and hard for seniors to figure out how to delete.

Then I check her cell phone. Is it on? Is the volume up? Did anyone call?

Then we watch something.

Wheel of Fortune.

Or Jeopardy.

Or Seinfeld.

Or Frasier.

Or Newhart (the first one).

Sometimes a movie.

I found that since pretty much the 80's mom hasn't watched a movie.

Maybe one or two on television but basically nada.

It's truly a time-traveling trip that I didn't anticipate.

So I'm catching her up.

Movies we've watched so far:

• Home Alone: Watched on Christmas eve - she laughed and liked it but the setup took much longer than I remember.
• Castaway: She loved it. "Wilson" she said as she watched the story unfold and smiled. "He needed Wilson didn't he?" She said half to herself.
• You've Got Mail: Liked it but not as good as Castaway she thought.
• Liar, Liar: Laughed a lot.
• Bruce Almighty: Ditto.
• About Time: She didn't say anything the whole movie but then clapped at the end. "That was different," she said.
• My Best Friend's Wedding: Not so much.
• Yesterday: Really liked. As she was going to bed I noticed she had a big smile when I asked her if she liked it. I think it was the music.

Rewatching these "old" movies makes me nostalgic for the time before Marvel took over the movie universe.

Can she handled Gladiator? Shawshank? Braveheart?

I think I'll hold off a bit.

Before bed I take her blood pressure and note it on a sheet for the doctor who has given us new pills that so far seem to be helping.

So this is

Life for now. And I think we'll be fine. There are small moments that I mentally record as I imagine a father would. I'm pretty sure I worry about her more than she thinks I need to but this is a new chapter - for both of us. And after dad's high drama I'm probably a little over-concerned as caregivers go. But she appreciates my decision to come back from Nashville and my efforts getting us into a new place and all the work and she tells me often.

And she shows her appreciation with actions.

Like when I have to take time off from work to take her to a Dr. visit, and I rush home to find her waiting like a kid on the first day of school, ready to go with her jacket on and holding her purse and her cane because she respects my time and knows that it takes a lot to schedule and get her to the visits and get back to work.

And I know as a middle child she didn't always get priority.

I guess I've decided I don't want her to feel like a lower priority - especially in this stage of life.

And she's helping me go through more of dad's things, here she's enjoying a Frederick Law Olmsted biography before church and on the way she tells me we should probably keep it. It's a good one.

I agree but I'm not thinking of the book.

More to come

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