What Happened?

This week has been kind of a blur.

Mostly because I have been trying desperately to avoid realities.

I do know that I have had some fun times with David Riley and Eva this week, including seeing DR fold himself into a small kiddie pool to play with his sister.  He's so tall and long legged that with his back against one edge he couldn't extend his legs fully without s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g the other side out of round.  Eva, however, was so thrilled to have Dave-Dave to play with, she didn't care how many times she had to climb over his legs (or back, or belly, or head)! They splashed and "wrestled" and bounced until I made them get out to get dried off for supper.

David Riley hasn't had a completely fun week, though.  He was working off a punishment.  (You KNOW you've done something wrong when you not only get in trouble with your parents, but you are being punished by grandparents!)  So far this week, he has vacuumed and mopped my downstairs, sanded the handrails on the wheelchair ramp, weeded the flower garden in the front yard, and cut down some of the spent flowers at the side of the house.  He still has two projects to finish.  He, also, had to write five Bible verses out that dealt with his infraction, and a 50-word minimum paper on why he would not do it again.  The paper was completed and given to us on Tuesday.

Eva has taken a turn on her potty training this week.  She's started taking herself to the bathroom and changing her own pull-up--many times without letting anyone know.  Wednesday, I had put her down for her afternoon nap and 30 minutes later she started yelling for me.  I told her to lay down and go to sleep.  She yelled MUCH more insistently.  I finally opened the door and was greeted by a sort-of-happy face.  She handed me a very full pull-up and showed me that she already had a new one on.  She wasn't happy that she didn't get to go to the potty, but was very proud that she got herself cleaned up.  Then she went down for almost 2 hours and got up dry.

My caregiver roll is getting more difficult.  My Mom's oxygen levels are falling off drastically.  Even with 24-hour oxygen on her.  Jessica works in a respiratory unit at a hospital.  She tells me that Mom's other organs will start shutting down gradually now.  We are already seeing a form of dementia that comes with hypoxia (lack of oxygen).  I just keeping praying for her to go home peacefully.  The odds are against it, but God is much more powerful than the medical odds.

I know that I will miss her when she goes, and I will be sad and grieve, but it hurts so much to watch her body fail an inch at a time.  No matter how much dignity we try to give her, her failing body betrays her.

Yesterday was the calling hours and funeral for Bro. S.  It was such a hard day.  He was just a little over a year younger than I am.  His widow and son were doing well, but his mother just kept saying that no parent should ever have to stand by the casket of their child. My husband has wept off and on all week, but yesterday was like a flood. Some of the most amazing things happened this week because of his death.  Two county offices were closed for the week so that his co-workers could deal with it.  A huge gang of them showed up at the S house and did yard work and other stuff just to help out.  The funeral was literally standing room only.  Our church seats 300 in the sanctuary. My son, Daniel, was able to live-stream the funeral on our church's website so that members of our church that are in the military or now live in other areas were able to be a part.

I'm not sure what today and tomorrow will bring, but I've had a full week already.  If I can just get through the basics, cooking, washing dishes, paying bills, and enjoying some time with my hubby, I'll be grateful.