Friday, June 24, 2011

Update on me & the rest of the fam

Did I tell you I had a sleep study done a few months ago? Yeah, I found out why I was so freaking exhausted all the time. I got a CPAP machine a couple of months ago and it has been wonderful. This has resulted in my spending less time on-line because I have energy to do things that don't involve sitting in a chair. It is all pretty cool.

I went to spend my now-annual visit with my mother. She is looking much better this year than last. Her tremors appears to have be no worse, and possible even a bit less. She reports though that they are more extensive. She feels this higher in her arm and in her face. I think they appear to be less because she was so exhausted last summer. In any case, she is serious about moving out of her house. I told her that Roland and I had already talked about her moving in with us. She was glad to hear it because she thinks she can't afford assisted living, hates the idea of living in a retirement community (though she would probably adjust), and is afraid that if she moved into an apartment she would just have to move again as the Parkinson's progresses.

So we talked about the details. She would take our room on the ground floor and we would move down to the basement where we were when Carl first moved in. I warned her that she could keep her room as tidy as she wanted, but the rest of the house would be a change for her. She has clearly been thinking about that and seems prepared. She wanted to talk about the details of moving. The most important part was, I think, that I assured her that I would fly back with her. Right now I would think there is a better than 50% chance that she would move in.

Most of the time I think that is a good idea and I am very comfortable with it. Every now and then I have a moment of panic. "OH MY GOD, MY MOTHER IS GOING TO LIVE WITH ME!"

So, just to give you a complete picture: Gary should almost certainly be moved out by next summer. Brian will have just graduated from high school and preparing to move a full half mile away into the college dormitories. Andrew on the other hand will have just graduated from college and is hoping to move back home for a year (at least) while he take courses for a teaching certificate. You know, so he can put that philosophy degree to use.

Roland and I are coming to accept that we will never have to deal with the anxiety of an empty nest.

2 comments:

  1. So glad you updated! But I'm going to be extra nosy and ask how your sister and her kids are doing.

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  2. Things are odd but stable at Sis's house right now. She has moved into the guest room and they seem to be living together peacefully. Sis will finish with her college degree in one year. She is in a program with a very high placement rate. As long as she is willing to move to where the jobs are, she should be able to get one.

    She is willing to move and I think her husband expects to move with her. My impression is that Sis needs to stay with him until she finishes school and that her husband is seeing this as a chance to court her.

    My nephew has been struggling with school. He has had difficulty making friends, which is not surprising since he has grown up so isolated. He is still plugging along. His relationship with his father has improved. It is not loving and supportive, but it is not abusive either.

    The Nieces are still angry at Sis for changing all the rules, but they are both doing well at college.

    It is possible that all five of them will be going to California to meet my father's new wife. I find myself a little overwhelmed at that thought. We will see.

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