MOM CAN HEAR!!!!!! YEA!!!!!!!!

Have been so busy lately, just no time to keep this blog updated. But in this case that is a very good thing.

Mom has been doing real well. She goes to coffee most mornings, gets her hair done weekly, gets to Mass most Fridays and gets to boss me around every Tuesday and Thursday for about 8 hours each day!!! She does it in very goo humor, so it is no problem for me.

She is eating much better and usually drinking plenty of water. I can tell when she has not as she becomes cranky and overtired. So I gently remind her that she needs to be drinking, and she usually complies readily. On the days that she doesn't I just let her be, as she usually picks it right up the next day.

I call her early each morning, just to gauge her spirits. So far I have not had to be concerned about her spending the day without family. On the weekends when she will be alone I try to arrange for someone to spend some time with her on one of the days.

She has been keeping me very busy getting things done around her apt. I have been up on a ladder vacuuming out vents, getting down things for her to go through and sorting through lots of stuff. - I know Dad does not like the word stuff, but it fits the need of what I have been going through.

This past week Mom started going back to chorus rehearsals on Monday nights. It took me 2 days to get her music all organized and in order for the upcoming concert season. She wanted a new blouse, which I was able to find, now just need to alter it. She is so short these days!! And I am on my way downward having already lost 2 inches in height!!

We have had lunch with Angie the last 2 Fridays, last week with Lee and this week with Pam. Pam told me that Angie really misses seeing my mom regularly - I did not know that after Dad died Mom had been going to see Angie every day after volunteering. She thought that she would see her more often after moving in there.

When I reminded Mom that she had visited with Angie regularly, she remembered it and decided to call her to get together. You see, Angie had tried to go to Mom's, but got lost trying to find the apt, and never tried again, nor even mentioned it to Mom. And Mom probably thought Angie didn't want to visit. So Mom is going to call her and go down to her place and when I am there next i will make a map for Angie and show her how to get up to Mom's.

So about the hearing aids. She can hear so well that every little noise is annoying her. Her ears are very itching, but other than telling me she hates them the moment I arrived she did a great job of coping until last night, when she took them out before I left.

She will definitely need to get used to them. She has 2 weeks to see if she likes them. They are much bigger than she expected. They are the in ear type, not the behind the ear. The color is close to her skin color, ,so although they are definitely noticeable, they do not shout out - LOOK AT ME!!!

So she ended up spending the day telling me to stop shouting at her! SO it became interesting when she was practicing putting them in and taking them out last night as I was having trouble remembering if I was able to talk in a normal voice or if I had to be speaking louder so she could hear me. We ended up in a laughing fit as we were both having trouble remembering!!

Peter told me that they are much bigger than she expected. If she were to go with smaller ones, they would more than likely be too hard for her to get in and out. As it is, she has a little trouble manipulating them because of her arthritis.

So for those of you out there, when you call, it probably would be a good idea to ask her if she has them in, so you can talk more normally with her. The pamphlet suggest lots of patience and encouragement,. Let her complain if she needs to. It will be a process of her figuring out how loud to have them set, to get the most comfortable listening volume, but that is not going to be worked on until I am there on Tuesday. For now, she is mostly alone in her apt so she is just needing to get used to how they feel to become accustomed to them.

What a pleasure to be there and have the tv on a normal volume, instead of blasting me right out of my mind!!! She has noticed the difference and we talked about how hard it has been for others not knowing if she could even hear what was being said to her. She admitted to me that she really hadn't been hearing much of anything that was being said to her. I knew this early on as she had told me, but it was good to know that she realizes how difficult it has been for those around her.

So Mom is going through all of her belongings, cleaning out drawers and closets. She wants to have it all done before she dies. What a wonderful gift she is giving to all of us who will be having to clear out her place eventually.

She is in no hurry to leave this planet. She so wants to be around to see what kind of adults the younger grandchildren and great grandchildren become. She has been enjoying looking a photos and reminiscing.

We are packing up the things we know will be wanted by family members and labeling boxes. At this stage she just wants to leave it all for us to bicker over when she is gone. I would suggest if there is anything of special meaning to you that you let me know. I am willing to keep a list and if there are more than 1 who want an item it can be dealt with later on. There is not that much, but it will be kept as per her wishes.

She is getting rid of a lot of stuff that she knows is not sentimental. Now there are a lot of small picture frames that if no one wants them she will be donating them to Fuller's annual yard type sale.

Gotta get ready to head out for the day. Will definitely keep you posted on any changes with Mom. If I do not post it is because things are going fine.

Love to all............ Enjoy this fall weekend!!