Howdy all. Been a pretty depressing couple of weeks and has caused another extended absence from the forum. As a lot of you know, we recently moved my mom down here from Northern VA due to her living in squalor because of some less-than-honorable activity by my brother. As soon as she got here her physical health improved dramatically. We were blown away by how fast she got back on her feet (literally) with having people around to help and some good food. Sadly that joy was short lived however. A few weeks ago we noticed that her mental health was on a rapid decline. She started conjuring up these totally off the wall stories of places she'd been that morning, people she talked to (Johnny Cash for one), and things she'd done....but she never left the house. We had a feeling it was coming but did not anticipate it this fast. Life does throw us some curve balls though so I am just dealing with it as best I can. Didn't take long to figure out that if she's by herself for any period of time, either hanging out on the patio or just lounging on her couch in the family room, her mind wanders to far away places. The flip side is that when she's around people, she is much more grounded and in tune with reality. Having figured this out, I've been spending huge amounts of time with her trying to help keep her in as good a mental state as I can. Long drives through the Hill Country, going into town to stroll the stores, just sitting and chatting, getting her involved with cooking, watching You Tube videos of her favorite music from the 50's and 60's, etc. I just have not had time to spend here plus the fun of pretty much everything is gone, at least for now. I know it'll come back at some point but I've just lost a lot of motivation to do anything other than try to help mom as much as I can. I'm a bachelor today with Tracy being in KS with her family for the holiday and mom is taking a nap so thought I'd duck in here for a few minutes. I have been able to read most everything posted here when I log in early in the morning before anybody else gets up, but no time at all to reply. I've by passed some divine posts from many people that I admire and respect, which makes me feel horrible but in my mind, I want to believe I'm doing the right thing by taking care of mom. At this rate I don't believe she is gonna be with us much longer and it's heartbreaking to see the decline. The last thing we want to do is move her into assisted living where she really has nothing to live for. Gut feeling tells us that she wouldn't last a week without us around and having Bianca as a VERY close companion. I('m gonna try to spend at least a little time in here going forward but no promises.
On a different note, I'd like to extend a HUGE thanks to our good friend Chris (
gmc2003
) for taking the reins on the Leftovers Throwdown and getting it out there. I've been pretty much no help at all and God do I feel remiss in my responsibility to all of you, Chris, and my commitment to help keep the events rolling. Chris....you da man!!
Gonna go try to reply to a few posts now before mom wakes up and we start our T'giving dinner for two.
Robert
On a different note, I'd like to extend a HUGE thanks to our good friend Chris (
gmc2003
) for taking the reins on the Leftovers Throwdown and getting it out there. I've been pretty much no help at all and God do I feel remiss in my responsibility to all of you, Chris, and my commitment to help keep the events rolling. Chris....you da man!!Gonna go try to reply to a few posts now before mom wakes up and we start our T'giving dinner for two.
Robert
