Hi Everyone!
Yes, I’m still alive and kicking. I realize it’s been more than a month since I posted last and once I started receiving gentle e-mails I figured I ought to provide an update.
Dear Fran is still poking around Dogwood with her little wheelchair. She tells me the hip is no longer hurting and she is getting up and walking more and more. But the Visiting Nurse physical therapy sessions are completed and Fran is still favoring the chair versus the walker. Other than that, she is doing pretty well. We usually get in a card game of Spite & Malice when I stop by after work and that makes her day. Amy, the activity director, says Fran is no longer staying in her room like before. In fact, whenever Bingo is being played downstairs I can find Fran at the table. She always wins. That woman is incredibly lucky at games.
The Atlanta landscape is finally coming to life with flowering trees and shrubs and is very pretty. Dogwoods joined the pink Cherries and white Pears last week, and yesterday I saw the purple clumps of Wisteria hanging on the pine trees. I bring Fran along while I drive around town on my errands and she enjoys looking at the colors. The Azaleas should all be in bloom by next week!
We arranged for new hearing aids at Costco last week. I figured Fran would enjoy the people much more if she understood everything they were saying. Marianna took Fran over and brought her back. The Costco devices were a couple thousand dollars and I was disappointed to learn she isn’t happy with them “because they’re too loud and make annoying noises!” So she isn’t using them. Arrrrgh! Marianna will be taking Fran back for a regularly scheduled “adjustment” appointment next Wednesday. Hopefully that will fix the problem.
My Dad, Bill, seems to be doing very well. I enjoy our evening visits, usually after my game with Fran. No more falls or scrapes to report. His broken wrist is completely healed, as are the skin tears from all the bumps and falls. When he is clean-shaven he actually looks quite handsome! He seems perfectly content with his surroundings and my visits. The dementia is there, but we are able to communicate around it without any problems. I find a lot of comfort from our times together.
What can I report about me?
I decided to keep the yellow Boxster so I joined the Peachstate Region of the Porsche Club of America. I indicated an interest in learning how to drive my little roadster so I can compete on the Autocross courses, as well as attend social events. Upon sending in my online application I immediately received online welcomes and a schedule of upcoming events for both Driver Education and Autocross. PCA also sent me some tasty-looking group vacations to Europe, but I think they will have to wait for a year or two. A couple days later my PCA sticker arrived in the mail and I have it displayed on the Boxster’s window. Now all I need is some warm, dry weather and an open weekend.
The grieving got a bit worse about a week after Bob’s event was over. I’m told that’s perfectly normal and to be expected. My friends and three other cancer-widows have supplied valuable insight into what I am going through and that has been helpful. I received a phone call from Hospice Atlanta on March 13 while I was at work. They were just checking in, and knew it was about 3 months since Bob had died. That seems to be about the time spouses begin a “deep grieving” process. Their timing was perfect for me. So when she asked me how I was doing I gave her an honest answer of “Not very well.” Prior to that I thought I had been coping extremely well. Scottie, the counselor, gave me a lot of advice over the phone and when I asked if there were any meetings I could attend she was happy to invite me to the 2nd and 4th Sunday afternoon sessions at Hospice Atlanta. I attended my first on March 22, and it was very helpful. I will continue going to them for a while.
My job is continuing to keep me busy and the additional duties with special events is making it more interesting. This morning, in an effort to earn some “street cred” with the front-line MARTA employees, I left the house at 04:30 so I could stand on the North Springs rail platform and observe the ING marathon crowds as they headed downtown for the 07:04 race. I continued to ride the trains and walk the dark and cold downtown streets (Bob would have been worried sick if he knew what I was doing) to get a first-hand look at how the event came together. I arrived home at 09:30 and slept until noon.
I’m planning a trip to California in a couple weeks so my sister and I can spend some time together. I’m very much looking forward to it. Then, on May 15, I’m meeting my pal Caroline Gregovich halfway between Reno and Atlanta in the Windy City. We plan to eat, drink and be merry together in a city that doesn’t hold any memories for either of us. And in July I am still planning my round-the-country visit by plane, train and automobile.
Tomorrow, March 30, would have been our 24th wedding anniversary. I don’t know what to expect. Maybe it will pass like any other day. But I’ve asked Chip to come over from Augusta that day and measure the windows for replacements. I’ll do my part for the economic stimulus plan.
That’s all for now. Jasper and Ruthie continue to keep me company and everybody is feeling good. I hope you are as well.
Love,
Debbie
