Monday, August 3, 2009

The Future

Hi Everyone,

I know I haven’t added anything here, even though I finally have internet service now, but the truth is, I really didn’t know what to write. I’ve wanted to write something, but I’ve just been at a total loss.

So, first of all, a huge thank you to all who have sent me comments asking how our care-giving situation with my in-laws is going. Your thoughts and wishes mean a lot to me – believe me.

As to that situation, it’s not exactly started yet. They are still in Louisiana and my mother in-law is coming up with excuse after excuse why she doesn’t want to come here permanently yet. In the meantime, my father in-law is going downhill fast. He has been permanently banned from riding his lawn mower anymore because he can’t get off of it and just drives around in circles till someone lifts him off of it. They have to do all their shopping together since he can’t be left alone – ever. But at the same time he can just barely make it into the front door of someplace, where he has to find a seat to sit and wait till she does all the shopping. He sits and watches TV all day long now without even realizing what is on. He picks up the same pamphlet to read three of four times a day – thinking he hasn’t read it yet. He’s been wearing depends for a while now but now he’s also starting to mess himself quite a bit without realizing he’s done it. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg for him. My mother in-law is having stress attack after stress attack that keeps sending her to bed from trying to deal with him alone – when she gets stressed in any way, she’s starting to get very nasty. Not fun.

In the meantime, my wife is going nuts!!! And consequently, driving me nuts. She wants badly to install an elevator in our house so they can have the entire second floor for themselves (neither of them can negotiate stairs anymore). But I can’t afford an elevator. She would also like for me to add a huge addition onto the house. I can’t afford that either. So we’re turning our formal parlor into a bedroom for them. I can’t afford even that, but we’re doing it. My wife wants everything ready for them when they finally say we can go get them. And since that time could be any day now, she’s driving me crazy to get it all done – along with buying furniture and decorating!

My wife doesn’t want to go to stay in Louisiana because her home is here, but at the same time, she can’t stand them being so far away. In my personal opinion, I think my father in-law needs his doctors around him more than ever right now. One doctor said he needs to be in a nursing home, but my wife has flatly declared that it won’t happen. She wants to take care of him. I envy my wife’s dedication – and don’t forget, she’s not without her own problems too. She has arthritis – bad!

So life is a big bowl of cherries.

But, at least we have internet now.

I’m kind of thinking of starting to post parts of the story I’m writing now in this blog when I have nothing better to write – which may be most of the time. I know, I know… I haven’t finished the last story I started to write here, and I may not finish this one either. But I’m loving this story a lot. I’m several hundred pages into it, and I’ve just barely started. So in reality, it’s really a total book – and a long one. But oh… so much fun!

So to all of you out there in Never-Never land -
Count your blessings and smile.

Karen

1 comment:

Pretty Sissy Dani said...

I hate to say this, but your wife is wrong. Your in-laws need to be in, at the very least, an assisted-living facility. I think that would be best for them--they could stay together and still have the 24-hour care they need.

Given your wife's own health problems, taking care of her parents is beyond her abilities. She needs to realize it before they get to your home and she is overwhelmed by it all.

As for your writing--certainly, post your stories...but also post your thoughts on dressing and your various fantasies. Perhaps you could do what I did at the beginning of my blogging days--give us a history of how you got to where you are today.