Finally, etc.

Finally Love Aflame was published for Kindle today. It feels like it took a long time to get it all done so it could be published. Th paper book will be ready soon.

http://www.amazon.com/Love-Aflame-Pamela-Beckford-ebook/dp/B00SRRKADA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422402592&sr=8-1&keywords=Love+Aflame

As far as the etc., it was a great day. I slept in a little bit since I was out last night for a work meeting. I had a couple of really good meetings and accomplished a lot. Then off to see dad after work. Unfortunately he is still talking about moving facilities. I keep hoping that will pass. I certainly won’t be able to keep going to see him as much and doing his laundry twice a week since he would move into Huntington which is the opposite direction from my house and work. Maybe my sister will pick up the slack HAHAHAHA!!!! I seriously doubt that she will go much more than she does now (once a week). Anyway, finally home to a great dinner that I had put in the crockpot this morning and time to just sit and rest.

Today, I’m thankful my book was published and thankful for such a great day (which I attribute to the sunshine!)

New Mommy

First thing when I got to the nursing home tonight, my new friend Helen says to me “Do you have a new mommy?” We had quite a chuckle over that. Seems Frieda (I found out her name and which room is hers) is still hot for my dad. At one point dad left his room and she was in the hallway. Dad said “I picked the wrong time to leave”. Dad has been in good spirits. It’s good to see him laugh and make friends.

Then I had promised Helen I would show her my kindle so I stopped in her room tonight. You haven’t lived until you’ve tried to explain and demonstrate an electronic device to an 89 year old woman. She is quite intrigued with it. The woman definitely reads a lot.

My dad used to read. He just isn’t able to much these days. I had to buy a large print paperback and then break the spine (which also broke my heart) so it could lay open flat. It is the only way he could read it. So I got him a book for Christmas. As soon as he was done with it, he gave it to Helen to read. Now he is asking for another book by the same author. This makes me happy.

I’m just so thankful that everyone is happy and having a good time. I told my dad tonight that he was providing entertainment for so many people.

Those are the good things that happened. The bad thing is that I lost my cleaning lady today. She decided to take a job where her husband works and quit cleaning houses. I’m really bummed. I guess I will be cleaning my own house for awhile 😭

Night out

I would love to have a follow up on my dad and his “girlfriend” from yesterday’s story. But I don’t. I took the night off and had dinner with a friend/colleague. We only live an hour and a half from each other, yet our jobs and elderly parents keep us hopping. She just moved her 95 year old mother into an assisted living facility nearby from out of state. Plus she has an older sister who is not expected to live more than another month or two (cancer and, again, out of state).

But I’m thankful we made time tonight.

Just a quick update from my emergency room visit in December. Had a visit with my primary care physician today. She is pretty sure it wasn’t heart related either. But to be on the safe side she wants me to go in for a stress test. That is scheduled for the end of the month. I have a feeling I will use all 12 of my sick days this year. Between needing time for my own health needs, dad needs to be taken in for some extensive dental work. God forbid I would actually get sick and need to be off work.

Laughter is Good for the Soul

Let me start by telling you what I’m thankful for tonight  — laughter.  I haven’t laughed this hard in ages. Bear with me as I tell you the story.

Went to see dad tonight at the nursing home. We chatted about the Ohio State victory (he’s a huge OSU fan) and talked about the weather and then the conversation pretty much died out. Dad isn’t a big conversationalist. Many nights I just sit and we look at each other.

But all of a sudden he started to chuckle then said “when you leave tonight, stop in Helen’s room and ask her to tell you about my girlfriend.” Let’s back up a little bit.  Helen sits at dad’s table for meals and is one of his gang members. She’s a sweetheart and probably close to 90 years old.

But then he continued. It seems that another old woman (I guess old is a given there) who, in dad’s words, is out of her mind, decided that he is her boyfriend. She got up from her table and announced loudly that she wanted to be with her boyfriend and put her arm around dad.

By this time I was rolling on the floor laughing. He said that his gang was of no help to him. They just sat there and laughed. He even told them that if I was there, I would have been laughing with them.

And that’s all he had to say about it.

Well, I gathered my coat and decided I had to stop and see Helen. When I got to her room, I told her that dad said she would give me all the details of his “girlfriend.” She and I both laughed hysterically as she filled in some details. Helen said that the nurses tried to get this old woman to go back to her table and sit down but she wasn’t about to let go of my dad, proclaiming she wanted to be with her boyfriend. It seems the nurse finally quit laughing long enough to get this old dame back to her table.

The there’s more. Once she was back at her table, she wanted to send dad a drink. So she had the nurse give him a glass of milk. So this is the kind of bar I have to look forward to when I get old??? But then this old gal was going up and down the hall later looking for Bob (my dad). Thankfully she didn’t find him. Helen and I laughed and laughed and laughed. Dad always said he should write a book – he certainly has enough material for one.

While I found this all hilarious, my sister will not be happy about it. She is terrified that some old woman is going to try and get her claws in dad. Sheesh! The evil part of me wants to call her and tell her (and probably exaggerate a bit) – but then the other part of me wants to keep this special thing to myself. (Maybe that is really the evil part of me)

I spent an hour in Helen’s room. I have to tell you that she is really a great lady. And she likes to talk (something dad doesn’t do much of). I learned about her four boys and grandchildren and how the kids don’t get along. When she told me that one of her sons changed his name and wanted nothing to do with the family, I wanted to cry along with her. But then we talked about other stuff that made us both laugh.

But the one thing about Helen I have noticed every day is that she is a reader. She always has a book open reading. One of my favorite subjects so we talked about that for a long time. She offered me all of her books (boxes) and said that her grandkids make sure she has plenty to read. I was talking about reading on my Kindle. She had no idea what that was but was quite fascinated. She leaned up in her wheelchair and said “can I be nosy and ask how much one of those is?” When I told her mine was only about $59, she perked right up. Any other time, I would have had it in my purse, but tonight I had taken it out before I went down to see  dad. I told her I would bring it with me and let her see how it works. I was talking about indie authors and she didn’t have a clue what that meant. I’m opening up a whole new world to her.

I think I will go to the library at their next used book sale and buy her a stack of books. I love people who read. Plus she is good for my dad. She told me how much she respects him because he is so kind to her (and everybody).

So, that is why I’m thankful for laughter. It makes me feel good to know that dad is happy and has friends. But just laughing makes me feel so good. How can you possibly be having a bad day when you’re laughing.

 

Toasty

It’s freezing here. At 9:00 pm it was -2 degrees with a -19 degree wind chill. Driving home from work was challenging. The whiteout made it treacherous to drive. Schools are closed tomorrow. I can at least tolerate it when it is in the 30’s. But these temps are just ridiculous.

Last winter when we had temps like this, I was so upset because my dad was still going out every day for breakfast and lunch. I yelled, I begged to no avail. In hindsight, it was his caregiver’s fault. He wouldn’t cook anything so dad felt like he had no choice.

I’m really thankful today that I don’t have to worry about dad. He is being so well taken care of. His needs are all being met. He is fed three times a day, plus snacks. He is clean and dressed. He is warm. The nursing home is way too warm for me, and dad would never set his thermostat on 76 at home, but his room is a toasty 76 degrees.

The peace of mind I have is wonderful. I know that I don’t have to worry about him.