September Recap

Wow, I don't think I've missed an entire month before. September was... difficult. My dad was in the hospital for two weeks. During that time, my mom stayed with us. Dad was in congestive heart failure and a-fib. He's home now with a life vest that can shock him if need be until they upgrade his pacemaker with a defibrillator. Mom did better staying with us than I expected, but there were some disturbing moments when she experienced some long-term memory loss in addition to her usual short-term issues. Thank goodness for our kids who provided levity.

In the midst of the chaos with Mom and Dad, their homes association decided to repave their driveway. The last day they were working on it, Mom, the girls and I stopped by to pick up her meds and a change of clothes. When we were walking out, the mason was using a tool to mark the final line through the pristine concrete. S and I had gone down the hill to where the van was parked on the street so my back was to Mom and Baby R, who was latching the front gate by the patio.

Suddenly, I heard yelling and turned around. Baby R had run down the top half of the driveway which had dried the day before and continued on into the freshly poured and completed bottom half, slipping and falling forward, destroying the mason's work and covering her shoes, legs, hands and arms in concrete. I was furious at her for running through there despite everyone telling her to stop, embarrassed and feeling badly about it ruining the construction worker's efforts, and worried about getting her cleaned up. I grabbed her and raced back into Mom's house, stripped her down and sat her in the sink. She was crying. I was consoling and cleaning her. And slowly, finding the humor in the moment. Because honestly, more than anything else, it was freaking hysterical. And I totally needed a laugh right then.

The doctor's decided that the bottom part of Dad's heart isn't viable, so a bypass was off the table. He decided he should quit his job driving work-release prisoners from the prison 60 miles away to the warehouse near their neighborhood since the doctor said "instant death was possible at any time." It was sobering news for all of us. He was very depressed when he first got home.

Thank God for my half-sister, D. She helped me so much with my mom. My younger sister came home from St. Louis to help me start cleaning out Mom and Dad's house so we can try to put it on the market and get them moved into a retirement community. I feel so terrible for her; she feels guilty for not being here to help more. But, life is just life. Nothing to feel guilty about.

Dad ended up getting his job back when the doctor cleared him last week. Sigh.

The other funny thing that happened when Mom was staying with us was also courtesy of Baby R. We were eating breakfast one morning and I said that the girls were being silly, and they got their silliness from Daddy and Grandma. Totally out of the blue, Baby R said, "Daddy's so silly; he clogs the toilet!"

You should have seen the look on my mom's face. I couldn't help myself, I busted out laughing. Poor DH wasn't even in the room. He came in a minute later, and I said, "Hey, honey. Guess what your sweet daughter just said?" He about died. Kids say the darnedest things, don't they?