Christmas Eve - 2023 12 24

 

Mom is off to stay with family for a two-night overnight. She will be back sometime Boxing Day TBD. 

My brother picked her up at 10 am. She was dressed in her new green corduroy pantsuit with a new brown knit cap tied with her signature red ribbon. 

There were three bags for Mom's trip. The first bag had her pyjamas, slippers and house coat. Oops! I just remembered I forgot to pack extra Depends for the trip. I'll see if they need me to run them up or if they will pick some up. They may have some on hand from previous visits. 

The second bag had Mom's medications. Oops again. I'm not sure I gave them tomorrow night's dose and also Tuesday morning dose. I think I am going to have to make an extra trip to make sure they have everything they need.

The third bag had presents from Mom for family and also extra gifts left from my out-of-town brother's visit here that might fit other family members.

I got distracted during packing because I was trying to figure out if there was any last minute cards I could put together for three families. As I looked over my collection I realized I just wasn't ready to put anything into packages and I had run out of time. It is very easy to run out of time when you are putting over five hundred hours a month into looking after your frail elder : ) At least, that is my excuse. 

Now we are home alone with our dog for Christmas. We don't feel abandoned. It's more like a transition state shift to 48 hours without having to care for Mom. I think of my own children and what words of encouragement I can send them over Christmas. 

We are working hard to gear up for generating cashflow from the resources we have at hand. We don't have any disposable income for Christmas gifts. This isn't new for us. We have been stretched to the limit renovating this house for 12 years, now we are stretched to the limit looking after Mom. It's ok. 

It has been a good year. It is significant that Mom is strong enough to have this overnight visit. She hasn't been away for two nights in a row since she moved in Nov 1, 2021. That is probably why I didn't have a packing routine to make sure I got everything in her bags. 

The days have already started getting longer as we coast out of 2023 and set sail for 2024. Best wishes everyone!