Current working theory
Because several people have asked (thank you, I appreciate it), my mom is now doing "great", according to her. My current working theory is that she had some sort of extreme anxiety attack due to my dad being in town. To complicate it further, I think she's so far in denial about this that if I suggested this theory to her she'd get angry.
But this episode (she called it a 'Dry run') has let me convince her that I should be going to her doctor's appointments with her, which will probably kill one lunch hour per week, but not much more than that, because her doctors' clinics are mostly right across the street from my office. I suspect it will put more emotional stress on me, and it will definitely cause me more organizational stress. I definitely appreciate the emotional support I'm getting from everyone.
I was listening to a man on the bus the other day talking on the phone about moving his mother and it was time to make some hard decisions - he looked like he was actually older than my mom is now. I got all jealous that I'm going through this now when that man got to wait until his late 60s or early 70s to have to do it.
----
In other news, my mom-in-law's neighbour has been moved to a rest home, and this is a permanent change. She's been a friend to the family for decades, and I adore her, but she's descended into some kind of dementia and is unmanageable. Getting old is NOT for sissies. She, at least, is 93, but it's hard to watch at any age. I'm regretful, and working to prepare Nate for when she dies, because they have been good friends since he was born.
But this episode (she called it a 'Dry run') has let me convince her that I should be going to her doctor's appointments with her, which will probably kill one lunch hour per week, but not much more than that, because her doctors' clinics are mostly right across the street from my office. I suspect it will put more emotional stress on me, and it will definitely cause me more organizational stress. I definitely appreciate the emotional support I'm getting from everyone.
I was listening to a man on the bus the other day talking on the phone about moving his mother and it was time to make some hard decisions - he looked like he was actually older than my mom is now. I got all jealous that I'm going through this now when that man got to wait until his late 60s or early 70s to have to do it.
----
In other news, my mom-in-law's neighbour has been moved to a rest home, and this is a permanent change. She's been a friend to the family for decades, and I adore her, but she's descended into some kind of dementia and is unmanageable. Getting old is NOT for sissies. She, at least, is 93, but it's hard to watch at any age. I'm regretful, and working to prepare Nate for when she dies, because they have been good friends since he was born.