Good Lord, it’s 2020!
Happy New Years, everyone! I hope you had a party, friends and family, drank some bubbly! It’s nice to celebrate the passage of time. I’d love to hear how you welcomed in the new year!
I didn’t do any celebrating last night. My mother was released into our care from the hospital yesterday. We’ll have extra support from hospice, but it’s up to us to care for her, 24/7. So, last night I slept with the baby monitor next to me, with her in the next room, so I could hop up whenever she needed help.
We’re glad to have her back home. It’ll be work, but she’ll be happier in her own place, with her family around her.
Her care, her future and ours, is a bit up in the air, but I still made plans for what I want to accomplish writing-wise. This is a snapshot of my workplan for the first quarter of 2020.
Does it look like gobbledygook to you? Okay, it looks crazy busy, and it is ambitious, but I have to try to get there. While mom sleeps, I’ll write. Kind of like now.
I am blessed with family that pitches in. My brother and his wife have been RVing around the country, but they’re presently parked in our pasture, ready to pitch in with whatever we need done, for as long as we need them here. Last week, my sister flew down to keep mom company when they moved her to a larger hospital in the city. That was a huge help.
My dd lives right across the road with her big family, and yesterday, her husband tore down her bed and put it in storage before hospice workers arrived with a hospital bed and lift. Her room is set up like a hospital room now, and we’ve got all the supplies in—gloves, masks, menthol inhalers (my dd has a sensitive nose), bed pads, etc. We’ve done this before—for my grandma and my dad. We’re set. We know how to do this.
I moved into my mother’s office with the bare necessities of what I need: my laptop, planner, a watercolor notebook, and a portable set of watercolors. The baby monitor is next to my laptop monitor, so whenever she’s awake, I’m in there with her, checking on her comfort.
Probably more details than you guys want. All writers live these exciting lives, right? Gorgeous cabana boys at poolside… Well, we’re people, too, and sometimes life isn’t easy.
But I have plans. Stories to tell. I’ll find the time to write them! ~DD
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So with you… as someone who has done in-home care for a relative… I get you… and you know how to handle it.. but know that you’ve got support out here on the web… (and the islands)
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Sending thoughts and prayers for you and your family. Special thoughts and prayers for your Mom . Blessings..
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Here we just stayed in for New Years, had steaks and watched a couple of movies. I was tired from all the travel and family time, so I wanted a quiet evening.
How fortunate your mother will be surrounded by loving family and also that you will have help nearby.
The love and the memories are all that we take with us and I am wishing you the best of moments to hold in your heart.
Sending you and your family love.
And good writing vibes for you in 2020!
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I’m living this life on a level. It’s not easy. You are a rock star. Idol.
All the best to your mom and family.
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Thanks, ladies! And have a great 2020 yourselves!