who knew i'd be moving so much in my old age
Two years ago when I bought the house I've just moved from, I thought we were going to be there for life. It was by far my favourite house of all 9 houses I've lived in since I was born.
But who knew that my husband would decline so swiftly and end up in hospital for months before they could find a nursing home space for him? I've done nothing but worry since June 12th when he fell and had to go into the hospital.
Two years ago he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage with stroke-like symptoms that left him moderately cognitively impaired. He knew it too, and asked me to take over the financial affairs, etc.
Shortly after that I decided to sell the house in Ontario and move across country to B.C. after consulting with my daughter and her husband, who moved from Kelowna to help us move out. I got a Power of Attorney for personal and property for my husband so I could take care of all the affairs without involving him because he felt it would be all downhill from there.
The house sold in 4 days and we had 2 months to move out. During that time my husband showed many signs of personality change. His doctors (geriatrician and psychiatrist) altered his medications until they found the best ones for him.
I had arranged that we travel to BC by train, but that didn't work out. The cross country train runs only once a week and my plan was to stay in a local hotel until the following Sunday, then get on the train. I had arranged for our car to be shipped to BC for us, but decided to take it into the dealership to have it checked out beforehand.
It was lucky I did because it needed new brakes, a new windshield because of a small crack, and a couple other minor things.
Then my husband decided that he didn't want to stay in the hotel anymore after a couple of days, and wanted to drive to BC. He asked me to drive because he felt he couldn't anymore. No kidding. The doctors had had his license suspended anyway, and I had received a letter to that effect from the MOT, which I showed Ed.
So I started driving across country, but only got as far as Sault Ste Marie (just north of Michigan, USA) when I became ill and we were forced to stay in a hotel for a week. During this time it started to snow. We had left our house on Nov. 22 and it snowed for the first time on Nov. 27, 2022, making it impossible for me to drive any further. I just didn't want to take the chance.
I contacted the people who were to ship our car and told them we had moved farther northwest and said I'd leave the keys with reception and to pick up the car from the hotel.
I then booked us on a flight to Toronto and then a connecting flight straight to Kelowna, BC, where I had bought a house that I saw only online, but it was bought and paid for, with a closing date of Nov. 25th.
My daughter, her husband and two children had left our old home on Nov. 22 as we had, but chose to drive the whole way there. They were lucky being ahead of us by a couple of days and they stayed just ahead of the snow. They reached Kelowna on Nov. 27th and picked up the keys to the house. They got there a day ahead of the movers, who arrived on the 28th.
We didn't arrive until Dec. 2nd, when our cats did as well. I had hired a wonderful man to bring all 3 cats to Kelowna for us.
I was pleasantly surprised by the house, which had been built in 1975 and lived in by the original owners until the mother moved into a nursing home after her husband passed away. Her two daughters sold the house to me and we met quite often, whenever I received their mail.
Kelowna was paradise. I miss it so much. My husband had two wonderful years there before he went into his nursing home, but he's still there and I'm not. However, I am lucky enough to be able to visit him once a month or so, and the home itself is beautiful. It's all on one level, very spread out and the rooms are all huge. It's a nice, restful place for him to be in. When I last saw him he was pretty good, quite responsive and I think he knew who I was. He can no longer walk or talk very well, but we had some nice face time with our son Jamie, who recently got married to his long-time girlfriend and had a baby in September. They also bought a house, so that was three big things to talk about.
Since I last saw him in October, we have moved into a townhouse in Calgary, Alberta. By we I mean myself, my daughter and her family. It's been quite an adventure, which I will continue later, in more detail.