"I Yam What I Yam. . ."

Mom rarely opens her eyes now.  She sleeps most of the day either in bed or in a geri-chair.  Dad sees her four mornings a week and feeds her breakfast.

Last Tuesday, while dad was feeding mom, I touched her arm, got six inches away from her face, said "hi, mom," and got absolutely no reaction.  Yet, dad continued to feed her.  I was so concerned I did some research.  I found it's extremely risky to feed someone who's not fully awake, especially if the person doing the feeding has no training.  So I told dad I'm concerned mom might choke or aspirate while he's feeding her when she's not fully awake.  Big mistake!

Dad twisted my words in his head and came to the conclusion I'm willing to let mom starve to death. And he just can't understand how I could be so "cold-hearted."  First of all, someone in mom's state doesn't feel the starving if that should occur.  Second of all, I never suggested no one feed mom, just that it be someone with experience and training.  I mean, how will dad feel if mom chokes or aspirates while he's feeding her?

I have to admit a few of my family members often misinterpret what I say.  I might take some of the blame, but most relatives and all of my friends seem to have no problem understanding me. Besides, I'm 61 years old, so I don't see me changing.

I'm sorry for dad that he took things so wrong, but the incident was a turning point for me.  In the past, I would have desperately wanted to explain myself and "fix it."  But, this time, I'm leaving it alone, finally understanding that I have no control over how people think.  And I don't have the energy to constantly edit myself for certain individuals.  As Popeye says, "I yam what I yam and tha's all I yam!"

Perseverance Pays Off

My feet have several challenges.  I have a frozen toe joint in my right foot and a huge bunion on the left foot.  Plus both feet are double wide.  Because we do a lot of walking when we travel, however, I really don't want to give up walking as a fitness option.  And I seem to be doing OK.

Even though we used the public transportation in Paris a lot this last trip, we still walked several miles every day.  And I was pleased to be nearly pain-free for most of it.  Plus any little discomfort I had was easily fixed by taking a break and an ibuprofen pill.

I, therefore, decided to keep up my walking regimen when we returned.  But I really needed a true fitness walking shoe, so I started another online search.  I'd looked for walking shoes many times before, but always ended up ditching or returning them.

This time I ended up taking a chance on the Easy Spirit Romy and I'm thrilled to report it works great for me.  I now finally have a shoe that gives me support and bounce when I hit the sidewalk for my brisk neighborhood walk.

Unless you've walked in my shoes (pun intended), you have no idea what a big deal finding a comfortable shoe is.  Believe me it's huge and I'm glad I persevered!

Closet Switch

I spent the entire morning switching out my closet's cold-weather clothes for warm-weather items. Hubby has the walk-in closet in our bedroom, so I have the regular closets in our bedroom and guest room.  I keep my off-season clothes in the guest room.

While making the switch, I decided to try on nearly all of my warm-weather clothes.  I'm refusing to get down about the pieces that no longer fit and just be happy that most items will work, again, this year.  With what I already have and a couple of online orders I placed this week, I'm now set for spring and summer weather.  And grateful I don't have to shop at the brick-and-mortar stores!

Funny, I used to love shopping for clothes and now I hate it.  I think it's primarily because there are so many other things I'd rather be doing.  But I still want to dress fashionably, so I'm very grateful for all the online shops.

Now back to re-organizing the hobby room, a fun task!

Spring Fever Attack

The high temperature today is predicted to be in the upper 40s.  But, beginning Friday, the forecast is 60s and 70s for the rest of the month.  Spring is finally here!

And I have spring fever.  I woke today ready to start cleaning out every closet and drawer in my house.  I plan to begin with my hobby room closet.  Time to purge items I no longer use and make things I grab often more easily accessible.  It should be a fun day.

My goal is to finish the total-house clean out by April 13.  The MS Fundraiser Garage Sale my daughter and son-in-law typically hold on Holy Saturday was moved to April 13 this year, because last weekend we still had snow on the ground.

A plan with a goal, what a great way to start the week and a new month!