We loaded the "luxury coach" at 5am. I was concerned that my mother would have trouble making it up and down the bus stairs, but there were handrails and there was no problem. We started out on our 5 1/2 hour drive. I promptly fell asleep. I awoke at 8am. The bus was stopped. We were on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. We SAT THERE for OVER AN HOUR while they cleared an accident. We stopped at a McDonald's for breakfast. Most people, myself included, got off and went inside. Mom stayed on the bus and made her way to the back to use the RESTROOM. We reloaded the bus and continued our journey. We arrived at Hershey's Chocolate World at 12:30. Our scheduled tour started at 11:30. We were rescheduled for 1pm. We had just enough time to make it to the RESTROOM and back. Our tour included various activities which lasted until approximately 2:45. At that time we were given our meal and dessert tickets and directed toward the food court. By the time we were finished eating it was 3:30. We had 30 minutes to use the RESTROOM, do any shopping we wanted, and make it back to the bus. The bus was scheduled to leave at 4pm. The majority of us stood at the entrance waiting on a few stragglers who decided that they were not given adequate shopping time. When they decided to show up at 4:20, we departed. I, again, promptly fell asleep. At 7:40 I felt my mother stand up in her seat. I had been sleeping for the past three hours. Ear plugs in, sunglasses on, and u-shaped neck pillow in place. Mom made her way out into the aisle. She was headed toward the RESTROOM. The next thing I knew, the bus driver stepped on the brake. I jumped out of my seat. Mom went down. Flat on her back. Right there in the aisle. It all seemed like a dream. I screamed, she screamed, at least a dozen old ladies screamed. I knew that I couldn't lift her. I've tried before and failed. There was a lady in the back who declared that she could get Mom up. She made her first attempt: no go. She made her second attempt: no go. She decided that I needed to get behind Mom and help. So I climbed over the seat and assumed the position. Third attempt: no go. It was then discovered that Mom's one leg was actually UNDER her seat, so it didn't really matter how much effort was being made to lift Mom, she wasn't going up unless her leg was detachable. Meanwhile, the bus driver was not interested in the goings-on of the passengers. He was concentrating on making up the time we had lost by leaving 20 minutes late. We were still going 65mph down the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Mom's leg was repositioned and we gave it one more try. Mom made it up and back to her seat. The entire bus cheered. The only problem was, she still hadn't made it to the RESTROOM. The helpful lady who assisted in picking Mom up off the bus floor accompanied her there and then back to her seat. Mom made a remark that the death grip that the lady had on her actually made the mammogram that she received the Friday before seem enjoyable. We stopped at a service plaza shortly after due to a few ladies demanding a cigarette break. Mom was asked if she needed help off the bus and I quickly made the decision for her. She was not going anywhere. I made my way into the service plaza where I treated myself to a soft drink. I thought I'd earned it. I also picked up a couple of postcards to remind me of this special trip: one with Hershey's Kisses on it, and the other featuring the The Pennsylvania Turnpike. It seemed appropriate since I'd spent 3 1/2 hours in Hershey and 13 1/2 hours on the bus. We arrived back at Mom's building at 10:10. She made it off the bus without incident and declared that she was headed to her apartment to use the RESTROOM. I sprinted all the way to my vehicle.
The trip wasn't a total loss. I learned that "Big Ethel" has to shave (her face) three times a week. She also used to suffer from severe leg cramps. That is, until her doctor recommended that she put a potato in the bed with her. The idea intrigued Gwen, who suffers from "real bad spurs " in her feet. Big Ethel said that she wasn't sure the potato would have the same effect on spurs that it does on leg cramps, but she recommended trying it anyway. Her argument being that it couldn't hurt to try, after all, if it didn't work, Gwen could always remove the potato from her bed and eat it. Gwen agreed and stated that the potato dish of her choice would be hash browns.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
August.
Where do I start? Grandma passed away on the 4th, we buried her on the 9th. I miss her. I keep having dreams about her. I really wish I could turn them off. My birthday was on the 16th. Grandma was always the first one to call me on my birthday. She'd wake up to take her pill at 8am and call to wish me a Happy Birthday. The telephone always woke me up. This year I turned all the ringers off on all of the phones and I slept in. I didn't want the phone to ring. I knew it wasn't going to be Grandma.
I got an unusually high response for my birthday this year. All of my close friends and family remembered. I credit Facebook for that one. Thank you to everyone for the cards, gifts, phone calls, blog tributes, etc. Matt and I somehow managed to end up childless on my birthday, so we skipped the Boy Scout meeting and used the very thoughtful gift card I received for the Olive Garden. (Thank you, Angie & Jerry!) It was very nice. We then went to the mall to kill some time before we had to pick Ariel up. We ended up in Hallmark, which is usually one of my favorite stores. Note: don't go into a Hallmark store the week after you bury your Grandmother. Not a good idea. I ended up bawling like a baby. After semi-regaining my composure, a clock on display chimed 8:00. This particular clock just happened to play Amazing Grace every-hour-on-the-hour. So the waterworks returned. Amazing Grace was the song Grandma had requested to be played at her funeral. So it was also the song we (my cousin, Julie, and I) chose to play along with the photo slide show. Since Grandma got so sick so fast, we didn't have much time to complete it. We had about 36 hours to gather, select, scan, crop, re-touch, and organize over two hundred photos AND have them perfectly timed to three rounds of Amazing Grace. One night I was up till 4am trying to get the timing right. I listened to Amazing Grace approximately twelve thousand times. I don't think I can ever hear that song again and not think of Grandma.
The time that I got to spend with my Pap Pap, cousins, and aunt and uncle was really great despite the circumstances. Grandma would have loved it. I wish we'd gotten together more often while she was still alive. One of the hardest things was seeing Pap Pap in so much pain. They were married 54 years. He'd be fine one minute and weak-in-the-knees, about to fall down weeping, the next. You never knew what was going to set him off. Pap Pap is now my last living blood grandparent. I never got to meet my mother's mother, my mother's father passed away in 2007, and now Grandma. I haven't been to visit him since the funeral, which I'm feeling guilty about. I haven't had the chance. Sam has football and Hannah has soccer every Saturday. And I dare not visit without the kids.
I am disappointed by the lack of response by some of the people in my life who I thought would have been more supportive after Grandma's passing. You let me down.
Matt's parents came to visit the weekend between my birthday and his. We celebrated with steak and cake. It was nice. We got to show off all of our recent home improvements.
Towards the end of his life, my mother's father needed weekly blood transfusions. Ever since then, I try to donate blood as often as I can. (This is every eight weeks.) The Red Cross usually gives out tokens of thanks. In the past I've received t-shirts, fleece blankets, a pin, an umbrella, and coupons for free donuts, pies, pizzas, etc. After Matt and I got together I started dragging him along on my donations. When I arrived home from my week long stay at Pap Pap's there was a pile of mail waiting for me. In it was a notice for an upcoming blood drive in which the first 100 volunteers who made and kept their donation appointment would receive a free ticket to Cedar Point. So I signed Matt and myself up, we make our donations, and we received our tickets. Our first, and only, opportunity to use them was this past Sunday. The children were with their respective other parents; the weather was hot and dry, and so we skipped church and made a day of it. We had a really great time. I'll post pictures soon, hopefully. I haven't been to an amusement park without kids since I've had them. We got to ride the "big rides". Maybe a few too many, but we survived it.
Today was the first day of school. I got to take the van to get its oil changed. They told me that the water pump is leaking, the air filter is dirty, and there is a nail in the rear passenger side tire. My cousin Julie had a nail in one of her tires recently. We were in the Burlington Coat Factory choosing Grandma's party dress, and when we came out she noticed that her tire pressure was low. Fortunately there was a Goodyear right across the street and she went over there and got it fixed. Looking back, I don't think that was a coincidence. I think that Goodyear hires someone to hang out in Burlington Coat Factory's parking lot and waits for women to go in the store. Then they drive tiny little nails into their tires. Mine just wasn't discovered until today.
My mother lives in a building for the elderly and disabled. She came to me with a flyer about a trip the residents are taking to Hershey, PA. They are taking a tour bus, leaving at 5am and returning at 10pm. She commented on how she'd "always wanted to go" and never gotten to. She'd need me to accompany her. Driven by guilt and missed opportunities associated with my grandmother's passing, I agreed to go. After all, the trip was the same week as my mother's birthday. I'll let you know how that one turns out.
I got an unusually high response for my birthday this year. All of my close friends and family remembered. I credit Facebook for that one. Thank you to everyone for the cards, gifts, phone calls, blog tributes, etc. Matt and I somehow managed to end up childless on my birthday, so we skipped the Boy Scout meeting and used the very thoughtful gift card I received for the Olive Garden. (Thank you, Angie & Jerry!) It was very nice. We then went to the mall to kill some time before we had to pick Ariel up. We ended up in Hallmark, which is usually one of my favorite stores. Note: don't go into a Hallmark store the week after you bury your Grandmother. Not a good idea. I ended up bawling like a baby. After semi-regaining my composure, a clock on display chimed 8:00. This particular clock just happened to play Amazing Grace every-hour-on-the-hour. So the waterworks returned. Amazing Grace was the song Grandma had requested to be played at her funeral. So it was also the song we (my cousin, Julie, and I) chose to play along with the photo slide show. Since Grandma got so sick so fast, we didn't have much time to complete it. We had about 36 hours to gather, select, scan, crop, re-touch, and organize over two hundred photos AND have them perfectly timed to three rounds of Amazing Grace. One night I was up till 4am trying to get the timing right. I listened to Amazing Grace approximately twelve thousand times. I don't think I can ever hear that song again and not think of Grandma.
The time that I got to spend with my Pap Pap, cousins, and aunt and uncle was really great despite the circumstances. Grandma would have loved it. I wish we'd gotten together more often while she was still alive. One of the hardest things was seeing Pap Pap in so much pain. They were married 54 years. He'd be fine one minute and weak-in-the-knees, about to fall down weeping, the next. You never knew what was going to set him off. Pap Pap is now my last living blood grandparent. I never got to meet my mother's mother, my mother's father passed away in 2007, and now Grandma. I haven't been to visit him since the funeral, which I'm feeling guilty about. I haven't had the chance. Sam has football and Hannah has soccer every Saturday. And I dare not visit without the kids.
I am disappointed by the lack of response by some of the people in my life who I thought would have been more supportive after Grandma's passing. You let me down.
Matt's parents came to visit the weekend between my birthday and his. We celebrated with steak and cake. It was nice. We got to show off all of our recent home improvements.
Towards the end of his life, my mother's father needed weekly blood transfusions. Ever since then, I try to donate blood as often as I can. (This is every eight weeks.) The Red Cross usually gives out tokens of thanks. In the past I've received t-shirts, fleece blankets, a pin, an umbrella, and coupons for free donuts, pies, pizzas, etc. After Matt and I got together I started dragging him along on my donations. When I arrived home from my week long stay at Pap Pap's there was a pile of mail waiting for me. In it was a notice for an upcoming blood drive in which the first 100 volunteers who made and kept their donation appointment would receive a free ticket to Cedar Point. So I signed Matt and myself up, we make our donations, and we received our tickets. Our first, and only, opportunity to use them was this past Sunday. The children were with their respective other parents; the weather was hot and dry, and so we skipped church and made a day of it. We had a really great time. I'll post pictures soon, hopefully. I haven't been to an amusement park without kids since I've had them. We got to ride the "big rides". Maybe a few too many, but we survived it.
Today was the first day of school. I got to take the van to get its oil changed. They told me that the water pump is leaking, the air filter is dirty, and there is a nail in the rear passenger side tire. My cousin Julie had a nail in one of her tires recently. We were in the Burlington Coat Factory choosing Grandma's party dress, and when we came out she noticed that her tire pressure was low. Fortunately there was a Goodyear right across the street and she went over there and got it fixed. Looking back, I don't think that was a coincidence. I think that Goodyear hires someone to hang out in Burlington Coat Factory's parking lot and waits for women to go in the store. Then they drive tiny little nails into their tires. Mine just wasn't discovered until today.
My mother lives in a building for the elderly and disabled. She came to me with a flyer about a trip the residents are taking to Hershey, PA. They are taking a tour bus, leaving at 5am and returning at 10pm. She commented on how she'd "always wanted to go" and never gotten to. She'd need me to accompany her. Driven by guilt and missed opportunities associated with my grandmother's passing, I agreed to go. After all, the trip was the same week as my mother's birthday. I'll let you know how that one turns out.
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