46 years of meatloaf and mashed potatoes
Yesterday was my parents' 46th wedding anniversary. Being a Sunday, it was pretty mundane, though mom didn't have Zumba and my grandma was spending the weekend at my uncle's house, so we didn't have the weekly phone call. (She did just call at 9 PM tonight to return my mom's call, so we know she made it home at least.)
There was no fancy dinner out. Dad cooked. But he at least chose things he knew mom would like: Meatloaf and his mashed potatoes, which he said were extra fluffy yesterday. And corn on the cob. All of mom's favorites. He also had gotten her roses from Jewel, and mom was like, when did he do that?! Did he get those from Woodman's? He'd picked out the card from Woodman's, but she went out to get her nails done after we got back and he left soon after she did, heh. I of course got my card on Friday night, though I had to wait to tell them that part of the story. At least I'd had other things to pick up when I was at Target.
Meanwhile, with grandma, I guess my uncle had tried calling her several times last week and she never answered and she didn't get back to him. Somehow the volume got turned down and she hasn't been able to hear it ring. Also, grandma's phone is terrible when it comes to voicemails as they don't seem to show up for hours. My uncle was upset at not being able to reach her. Mom told him, I typically know her schedule; next time text me and I can tell you if she had plans that day or not. Anyway, there's been talk of moving grandma to an apartment in Elgin, but it's a normal people apartment, not specifically meant for older adults. She's 91. Why would we move her to a normal people apartment when she's currently in a condo? Mom's concern, if grandma moves into a specific senior living community, is that they'll take all her money. (...So? Are you worried about an inheritance?) I mean, it would be one thing if she was in a self-contained place where she didn't need to drive, but you want her to move to an area where she's never lived, where the speed limit is basically twice as fast as in the city, and make her acclimate to a completely different way of life...at 91??? Yes, it would be nice to have her closer (I think my uncle is considering ease of checking in on her). We've been thinking about this for several years. But she knows her way around where she lives and she has her set places to go. She literally knows nothing about Elgin, other than her mom--who didn't drive--lived there for a few years in the '70s before returning to the city. Also, mom was trying to convince me that grandma would be only 20 minutes away from us. Uh, no. It's 20 minutes to Laura's house and this place my uncle is talking about is at least another 10 minutes north of her. I guess my uncle knows someone in this complex and it's nice and it has a lot of amenities, which is great...for someone about 60 years younger than her. Whatever. Mom was not at all interested in my input. Mom just doesn't want all the equity pulled out of grandma's condo and put directly into some vampiric old people home; she'd rather it get put into, like, CDs the way my grandfather had done so that grandma appears to have less money should she move into something like that. You know, if grandma has an accountant or financial adviser, now would be the time to get them involved.
And all this is happening when Meals on Wheels is supposed to make their first delivery to her tomorrow. We'll see how that goes.
There was no fancy dinner out. Dad cooked. But he at least chose things he knew mom would like: Meatloaf and his mashed potatoes, which he said were extra fluffy yesterday. And corn on the cob. All of mom's favorites. He also had gotten her roses from Jewel, and mom was like, when did he do that?! Did he get those from Woodman's? He'd picked out the card from Woodman's, but she went out to get her nails done after we got back and he left soon after she did, heh. I of course got my card on Friday night, though I had to wait to tell them that part of the story. At least I'd had other things to pick up when I was at Target.
Meanwhile, with grandma, I guess my uncle had tried calling her several times last week and she never answered and she didn't get back to him. Somehow the volume got turned down and she hasn't been able to hear it ring. Also, grandma's phone is terrible when it comes to voicemails as they don't seem to show up for hours. My uncle was upset at not being able to reach her. Mom told him, I typically know her schedule; next time text me and I can tell you if she had plans that day or not. Anyway, there's been talk of moving grandma to an apartment in Elgin, but it's a normal people apartment, not specifically meant for older adults. She's 91. Why would we move her to a normal people apartment when she's currently in a condo? Mom's concern, if grandma moves into a specific senior living community, is that they'll take all her money. (...So? Are you worried about an inheritance?) I mean, it would be one thing if she was in a self-contained place where she didn't need to drive, but you want her to move to an area where she's never lived, where the speed limit is basically twice as fast as in the city, and make her acclimate to a completely different way of life...at 91??? Yes, it would be nice to have her closer (I think my uncle is considering ease of checking in on her). We've been thinking about this for several years. But she knows her way around where she lives and she has her set places to go. She literally knows nothing about Elgin, other than her mom--who didn't drive--lived there for a few years in the '70s before returning to the city. Also, mom was trying to convince me that grandma would be only 20 minutes away from us. Uh, no. It's 20 minutes to Laura's house and this place my uncle is talking about is at least another 10 minutes north of her. I guess my uncle knows someone in this complex and it's nice and it has a lot of amenities, which is great...for someone about 60 years younger than her. Whatever. Mom was not at all interested in my input. Mom just doesn't want all the equity pulled out of grandma's condo and put directly into some vampiric old people home; she'd rather it get put into, like, CDs the way my grandfather had done so that grandma appears to have less money should she move into something like that. You know, if grandma has an accountant or financial adviser, now would be the time to get them involved.
And all this is happening when Meals on Wheels is supposed to make their first delivery to her tomorrow. We'll see how that goes.