Grandma's move, round 1: Going up and back
It happened: Grandma officially resides in the suburbs. So much happened yesterday that I figure it'll be best to break it into multiple posts, especially as I remember more things. I'll start with coming to and fro.
We don't head up to my uncle's often, so I'm never quite sure how long it takes to get there. I know it's at least 45 minutes. It's not quite an hour, but depending on traffic and weather and such, that's in the realm of possibility. With the change of plans yesterday, it meant I headed up there later than expected, but that was fine; it gave me an idea of truly how long it takes to get up there.
I left at 3:18 PM and drove up in rush hour/holiday traffic, so it was on the heavy side. I arrived at 4:03--exactly 45 minutes. So, that's really good to know. That's way better than her place in the city, which is bare minimum an hour away. The route I take, it's about an hour and fifteen minutes. To shave a half-hour off that amount is great. Plus, she's only 5-10 minutes from my uncle. It was 21.1 miles.
Mom, after a very long day--she woke up at 2:30 AM when the power went out, and didn't really go back to sleep afterward--asked if she could follow me home. Sure. I mean, the directions are ridiculously simple--go 20 miles down Randall and make a left. But she was exhausted and her brain checks out pretty easily, so okay. I made sure she was behind me and plodded along down Randall. You have to understand, the speed limit is 50 MPH up there, also a good part of why we don't want grandma to have a car, and it only goes down to 45 for the most part. My mom was barely doing 40. Like, when we'd get to places where the cars behind her could get around her, they did, somewhat aggressively. Mom literally had no idea what the speed limit was; I just knew she was several car lengths back of me, and I kept having to slow down to make sure she was there. That was fun. At one point she was so far back that a car got in between us, and they quickly got around me as soon as they realized I wasn't going any faster. Still? It only took 38 minutes coming home. Traffic was lighter and I hit a lot of green lights. But, new rule--if we're coming home and it'll be dark out, mom probably shouldn't drive.
Mom also drove grandma out there. Her original job, which must've then gotten moved to my aunt, was to wait with grandma for the attorney and notary to sign paperwork. When my aunt wasn't up to it, mom had to go into the city and do the waiting. I think the attorney showed up at 1 PM, and the movers had already finished and likely left. But, of course, with all her furniture now gone, there was no place to sit, so grandma ended up signing paperwork while sitting on the toilet! OMG. That is such a grandma thing to do. I guess the attorney and notary were like, this is the first time we've done a signing in the bathroom! At least the attorney has known grandma, so perhaps he knows how weird she can be? Dunno; she last worked for him 20 years ago.
Also, grandma did not get one last delivery of food. I don't yet know if that's because it was called off, or if in the chaos nobody was there to meet Meals on Wheels. I'm still really grateful for their assistance in helping grandma to continue to live on her own. It helped her so much and allowed her not to worry so much about food shopping.
We don't head up to my uncle's often, so I'm never quite sure how long it takes to get there. I know it's at least 45 minutes. It's not quite an hour, but depending on traffic and weather and such, that's in the realm of possibility. With the change of plans yesterday, it meant I headed up there later than expected, but that was fine; it gave me an idea of truly how long it takes to get up there.
I left at 3:18 PM and drove up in rush hour/holiday traffic, so it was on the heavy side. I arrived at 4:03--exactly 45 minutes. So, that's really good to know. That's way better than her place in the city, which is bare minimum an hour away. The route I take, it's about an hour and fifteen minutes. To shave a half-hour off that amount is great. Plus, she's only 5-10 minutes from my uncle. It was 21.1 miles.
Mom, after a very long day--she woke up at 2:30 AM when the power went out, and didn't really go back to sleep afterward--asked if she could follow me home. Sure. I mean, the directions are ridiculously simple--go 20 miles down Randall and make a left. But she was exhausted and her brain checks out pretty easily, so okay. I made sure she was behind me and plodded along down Randall. You have to understand, the speed limit is 50 MPH up there, also a good part of why we don't want grandma to have a car, and it only goes down to 45 for the most part. My mom was barely doing 40. Like, when we'd get to places where the cars behind her could get around her, they did, somewhat aggressively. Mom literally had no idea what the speed limit was; I just knew she was several car lengths back of me, and I kept having to slow down to make sure she was there. That was fun. At one point she was so far back that a car got in between us, and they quickly got around me as soon as they realized I wasn't going any faster. Still? It only took 38 minutes coming home. Traffic was lighter and I hit a lot of green lights. But, new rule--if we're coming home and it'll be dark out, mom probably shouldn't drive.
Mom also drove grandma out there. Her original job, which must've then gotten moved to my aunt, was to wait with grandma for the attorney and notary to sign paperwork. When my aunt wasn't up to it, mom had to go into the city and do the waiting. I think the attorney showed up at 1 PM, and the movers had already finished and likely left. But, of course, with all her furniture now gone, there was no place to sit, so grandma ended up signing paperwork while sitting on the toilet! OMG. That is such a grandma thing to do. I guess the attorney and notary were like, this is the first time we've done a signing in the bathroom! At least the attorney has known grandma, so perhaps he knows how weird she can be? Dunno; she last worked for him 20 years ago.
Also, grandma did not get one last delivery of food. I don't yet know if that's because it was called off, or if in the chaos nobody was there to meet Meals on Wheels. I'm still really grateful for their assistance in helping grandma to continue to live on her own. It helped her so much and allowed her not to worry so much about food shopping.