Voices in my head

I know you have gone to bed and you cannot turn off your brain! Is that not annoying! I had written checks, balanced two bank statements, paid mom's bills, made projections on next month, my mind bouncing from one financial opportunity to another. Then my investment office at the bank calls and I have an appointment with him to move some retirement CD's as they are coming up on renewal!

No wonder my mind would not turn off and let me sleep. I get my small portable radio and put it under my pilllow to help me sleep, and there is DAVE RAMSEY will all these suggestions, financial suggestions on retirement and inventments. No credit card nor loan indeptedness except your home mortgage, cash, pay cash!

I am not promoting Dave's book or anything but he is right on target. If you pay cash or write a check for everything, you soon realized how much things really cost you. The credit card is terrible, as it gives you a false sense of financial ablility to spend! Like Dave suggeest, I only have my home mortgage, but recently bought a 'used' car (like Dave suggests), letting someone else take that big first and/or second years big depreciation. I have only one credit card but use it like a checkbook, keeping a register of purchases, and pay it "In toto, Net" when the bill arrives. I am just letting some processing center in NJ do my bookkeeping for me on purchases. The bank card processing company sends me a book type statement catgorizing and summing up all my purchases for my tax return...

So the voices would not shut down as I changed the station to a soft music station and soon my mind was humming along with a Girshwin tune. Finally....ZZZZZZZZ

Midgie: Glasses: Teeth:??

Well, it was a busy day! I tried to get to Ashton Gables earlier but Zeigler business, driving to Bessemer, checking on 513 Alice St., getting mom's mail, and eating my cheeseburger at Stadium Grill...ooops! Excuse me...but I only took 35 minutes for my lunch treat! All I needed was a small salad for dinner and I'm dieting as I used my fat calories through next Wednesday! But delicious! What a memory!

I was late getting to AG as it was about 3:45pm when I rolled up. They were playing games in the living room but no mom? I get to #137 and she is piled up in bed like she is retired or something. She rolled over, gave me a kiss and sat up greet her son.

"Mom, where are your glasses?" I went through the bed covers but no glasses. One of the residents helped me and when I got back from the nursing station, she found them UNDER her bed? Mom was seated in her chair, but I look closer....where is your lower plate? I find it in her cup in the bathroom? Now why does she have only one plate? The resident helping me is one from the pm shift and did not have mom this am so she is as puzzled as I am. But life goes on. I cleaned both her plates real good and put Fixodent under both so she can eat dinner OK.

I tried to get mom to the living room before the games were over, but Austine, the new activities director, had finished her activities for the group. But soon I got mom seated and we talked and it gave me a chance to check with the nurses there as to how mom was doing. All reports were OK, but still does not eat like they would want. I made sure they still had plenty of Boost or Ensure and that they supplimented this with her meals and snacks.

About 5:10, they start moving the ladies and men to the dining room and I had been sitting in one of the dining room chairs and they have rollers. I got mom to move into my chair and I rolled her into the dining room to join her friends. I got her walker, put her apron on, and soon just walked away. She was soon asking her friends questions and with her being hard of hearing, it was just that. Questions, but I don't think mom could hear most of their answers. But happy, content, and the LPN was there to give mom her pm meds.....bye, Son Jeff

Midgie, Fiona, and Katie

June 1, 2006, Thursday am

Dear Friends and family,

I missed the better part of Fiona's last day at Ashton Gables. Fortunately my brother Jack got there and had mom on the front row for the blue grass band and cake, cookies and coke. I hated not being on time but when the company calls me about 12:30pm and the sales department computer was down in Tuscaloosa and they needed me to resend all the correspondence I had work on all morning.

I had worked on Food show booking sheets, item data base(s) for my warehouse, getting these approved by management and resending approved copies to each. Now I am told the sales part of our sales database has been down all morning and they cannot retrieve all the attachments I had sent as emails. When do you need them, I ask? Now!

What is wrong with NOW! I am dressing to go see mom and it is Fiona Cook's last day as activities director at Ashton Gables. They had a party for her at 1:30 with the above and Jack made it. I got there just as the band was packing up to go but got to enjoy the remaining of the people talking about how much Fiona meant to them and/or their mom, dad, or grandparent that were there.

Mom was in her room when I got there and I had to split my time with her and with seeing Fiona on her last day. I got mom Boost, water with ICE (a must) and encouraged her to drink lots of water in this hot weather. The nurse told me they had mom on Cipro for a bladder infection and she needed to drink lots of water. Mom had been sleepy or had less energy than usual and I had seen the LPN a week ago to see about this change in mom's activity. I don't care where you have your mom or dad, you still need to oversee their medical care!!!

I stayed all afternoon using the time with mom to match up all her clothes. One of the attendants came in and I told her, as she saw mom's outfits and pj's skattered all over there bed, "I am the daughter mom did not have!"....Laugh now! I was able to match up virtually all her outfits but some odd pieces were in her dirty clothes and I hope to match the others today or tomorrow.

Jack said mom was good for a time, but tired listening to the band so he too split his visit with Fiona and mom. It was good she had both her son's there yesterday but did she remember Jack being there? Nope! "Mom it is not important, all that is important is NOW! We laughed, talked, looked at pictures and she went through some part of memory lane with me and where she could tell me, I filled in the blanks.

I will close these ramblings now but hope you enjoyed a little of my busy day yesterday. I got to see a little of Katie Couric's last day on the Today show on NBC, 15 years. She will be missed as will be Fiona with AG. I hope all have a wonderful and productive life....As I wrote Fiona in my note to her, as Red Skelton always closed his show, "And may God bless!"

Son Jeff