Family Update: Dogs, Mom, and Adjusting, Oh My!
Not much posted here lately. Been busy and burned out.
Kye had surgery a month ago--lost a foot of his small intestine. It appears he swallowed a wood chip (more like chunk)--I think it was the sort that people soak in water and then put in grills for smoking food. Anyway, it wouldn't pass, and by the time all the scans and tests got done and they decided to go spelunking in his abdominal cavity, it had chewed up a couple feet of intestines. The vets were really cautious about him surviving, because the parts they had left to sew back together weren't in very good shape. But survive he has, and we are glad to have avoided yet another death in the family.
Mom/Grandma's stuff as been disposed of, and I closed on the house deal today. It is an odd, empty feeling. After the last eight years, and especially the last year or so, it is difficult to ignore the part of my brain that is trained to think about doing things for Mom and Colleen. When I was thinking of this weekend, the first thought was "What do I need to do over there...ooops, nope. No "over there" anymore." Weird.
The quickness of the offer on the house and the serendipitous events that allowed us to get rid of everything and actually have the last four days before closing with nothing to do does make one wonder if there wasn't someone looking out for us. When we needed something to happen, things would fall into place. Calling one person about one thing would lead to a contact for something else. Putting things on the curb would result in others stopping and ask to take yet other stuff. The scrap metal collector knew a person that worked as a home health aid with low-income people--so the boat motor disappeared along with the handicapped equipment. There was a cascade effect that just kept things moving.
Wendy and Michelle: Please help your mom sort through and get rid of stuff that she carried over to her house from grandma's. There are a bunch of photos, knicknacks, etc. that she thought you might want to go through. We found a bunch of stuff in boxes in the basement, and were surprised at some of it. Anyway, please help her process that stuff--no, put it this way, help her get rid of it now so you don't have it to deal with in 20-25 years. :-P
Me, I've also got stuff stuck in corners and filling up my porch, but most of it will go away quickly. I was pretty careful in what I took since our house is so small. Mostly I still have boxes of old paperwork to sort through--and the bulk of that can be trashed/recycled. After all, who needs utility bills from three houses ago!? I have no idea why mom kept a lot of that stuff--even moving it to a new house. However, what is REALLY bothering me is the dust and grunge in the our house because I've ignored all but the essentials for months as we dealt with the issues for Colleen and Mom. YUCK.
Lucy and I will need to take it easy on ourselves. We've spent a big portion of our lives providing support for Mom and then for Colleen too. This is a HUGE change in our lives, and there will be withdrawal symptoms. But, new things are on the horizon--especially for Dan and I as we wait the arrival of Dan's new granddaughter--so eventually the mind will shift.
Kye had surgery a month ago--lost a foot of his small intestine. It appears he swallowed a wood chip (more like chunk)--I think it was the sort that people soak in water and then put in grills for smoking food. Anyway, it wouldn't pass, and by the time all the scans and tests got done and they decided to go spelunking in his abdominal cavity, it had chewed up a couple feet of intestines. The vets were really cautious about him surviving, because the parts they had left to sew back together weren't in very good shape. But survive he has, and we are glad to have avoided yet another death in the family.
Mom/Grandma's stuff as been disposed of, and I closed on the house deal today. It is an odd, empty feeling. After the last eight years, and especially the last year or so, it is difficult to ignore the part of my brain that is trained to think about doing things for Mom and Colleen. When I was thinking of this weekend, the first thought was "What do I need to do over there...ooops, nope. No "over there" anymore." Weird.
The quickness of the offer on the house and the serendipitous events that allowed us to get rid of everything and actually have the last four days before closing with nothing to do does make one wonder if there wasn't someone looking out for us. When we needed something to happen, things would fall into place. Calling one person about one thing would lead to a contact for something else. Putting things on the curb would result in others stopping and ask to take yet other stuff. The scrap metal collector knew a person that worked as a home health aid with low-income people--so the boat motor disappeared along with the handicapped equipment. There was a cascade effect that just kept things moving.
Wendy and Michelle: Please help your mom sort through and get rid of stuff that she carried over to her house from grandma's. There are a bunch of photos, knicknacks, etc. that she thought you might want to go through. We found a bunch of stuff in boxes in the basement, and were surprised at some of it. Anyway, please help her process that stuff--no, put it this way, help her get rid of it now so you don't have it to deal with in 20-25 years. :-P
Me, I've also got stuff stuck in corners and filling up my porch, but most of it will go away quickly. I was pretty careful in what I took since our house is so small. Mostly I still have boxes of old paperwork to sort through--and the bulk of that can be trashed/recycled. After all, who needs utility bills from three houses ago!? I have no idea why mom kept a lot of that stuff--even moving it to a new house. However, what is REALLY bothering me is the dust and grunge in the our house because I've ignored all but the essentials for months as we dealt with the issues for Colleen and Mom. YUCK.
Lucy and I will need to take it easy on ourselves. We've spent a big portion of our lives providing support for Mom and then for Colleen too. This is a HUGE change in our lives, and there will be withdrawal symptoms. But, new things are on the horizon--especially for Dan and I as we wait the arrival of Dan's new granddaughter--so eventually the mind will shift.