Taking Care of Seniors

A few months ago, a lawyer finalized all of dad's legal papers such as his will and Financial and Healthcare Durable Power of Attorney documents.  Dad left the office with the originals in a large envelope and copies in a three-ring binder, which he immediately gave to me. After realizing what I had, I put the originals in our safe.  I then returned the binder to dad, explaining that it contained copies should he ever want to review them.

Dad called today, insisting he had originals in a three-ring binder.  So I explained, again, exactly what he had and reassured him that I had the originals.  I've lost track of how many times I've explained this.  Between managing mom's finances and nursing home care and dealing with dad regarding legal and healthcare matters, I often just want to scream!

However, it also has me wondering who will take care of me and Jim when the time comes. It appears it won't be our children.  Daniel lives in South Korea.  And Emily has said she will not be able to handle it.  So for now I can only continue praying that I'll have my wits about me until the end.

Feline Babysitter

Emily and Elliott went back to school today.  That means the end of winter break for Grandma Daycare also.  Jonah arrived around 7:30 A.M. and went down for his morning nap at 8:30 A.M.  I figured I had at least an hour, so I started setting up the company's 2011 files.

We live in a ranch house.  The bedrooms are on one end; my office is on the other end. Therefore, if I'm working in the office I can't hear Jonah unless he's really loud.  So, after an hour, I'll walk down the hall every 20-30 minutes listening for baby sounds, although it's probably not necessary.

During the day Rupert sleeps on our bed in the room across the hall from Jonah's.  As soon as he hears Jonah, he comes and tells me with soft "meows."  This has happened several times.  Odds are he's just annoyed to have his sleep disturbed, but I like to think he's helping me babysit.

Best Use for iPad So Far

Jim, dad, and I visited mom today.  Dad and mom's wedding anniversary is this Friday. Since I won't be visiting again until next Sunday, we celebrated their 61 years together today.  I made a card with pictures of their three great-grandchildren, and brought bite-size cheesecakes for everyone.  The highlight of today's visit, however, was the viewing of several videos using my iPad.

I discovered last week that Bethesda has WiFi.  Now I can share videos of the boys with mom and dad, and it will give us something to do during our visits.  Today we watched videos from Christmas Eve and Day.  Hearing Jonah laughing, all the staff members gathered round. It was probably the brightest spot in their work day, which I'm glad to have provided. All the people who work in Bethesda's demetia wing are angels in my book.

I got the iPad as a birthday gift back in October.  Little by little I'm finding myself using it more and more.  But today's use is the best I've found so far.

The (Near) Perfect Storm

Last night we lost cable and internet access around 8:00 P.M.  That's nearly a perfect storm at our house.  Fortunately we still had electric and a working DVD player.  So while Jim snoozed on the couch, I watched a Harry Potter movie.  When it ended around 9:30 P.M. I decided to call it a night.

So I woke well rested on the first day of 2011.  I made a nice brunch of Panettone french toast, mixed berries, and bacon.  Then I remembered I could download the company's December bank statement.  That allowed me to complete all 2010 tax documents today, beating last year's reconciliation date by three days!  Yes, that's the type of thing that puts a smile on my face :-)