Happy birthday to my sweet granddaughter Ellexia. She turned 16 today. Oh my goodness, how is that possible. I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. She is tiny but mighty, independent and sensitive. I look forward to celebrating with her on Saturday.
I went to Emporia late morning. I needed to get some bourbon to make the bourbon slush and I went to Walmart to get the orange juice and lemonade for the slush. I grabbed a quick lunch at Braun’s and then went to a nursing home.
I met a family that is facing both parents having declining health. They are navigating the complex issue of nursing home payments and supporting the other parent at home. None of this is easy and feels like a huge maze where the path out is not marked.
We had a good discussion and I hope they found it helpful. I referred them to a couple of people that helped me through the maze earlier this year. They will contact me again if they get stuck and need more help.
We talked about what the parents wanted for their death plan. These are not easy conversations and the family did a great job stressing to the parents it was totally their choice. We talked about a DNR, etc. Got a few things decided with more decisions that need to be made.
I stopped at the Post Office and dropped off my Christmas cards on the way to town. Felt good to have them on their way. Trusting they will get to where they are going before Christmas – can’t say I believe that will happen for all of them. The postal service is not what it used to be.
I came home and have done nothing this afternoon. I was going to make peppernuts today but so far haven’t gotten that done. I still might get them made, we shall see. Tomorrow I want to make New Year’s Cookies and then the first batch of everything will be done. I may need to make a second batch of a few things next week depending on what is leftover Saturday.
I decided on the game I want to do and got the rest of the things I needed for that today. I need to put it together tomorrow but that won’t take too long. Deciding on what to do was the hard part and I got that out of the way.
Phil worked on the new bathroom today. He is working on putting tile up for the shower. I would guess he is 60% done. After he finishes installing the tile and grouting it he will put up the shower doors and finish some painting and then I think he will be done. I love the addition and am so glad I did it. It fixes several things I didn’t like about this house. Much cheaper than building a new house!
I got a check in the mail from a utility company that I been working with to get it since July. I will need to make two calls tomorrow to find out how to handle the check – hopefully it will be easy and this little project can be done.
I have to run to Emporia tomorrow to pick up a cake. I need to touch base with the baker and see what time I need to be there.
I will be grateful when Christmas is over Saturday. I feel like I have put other things on hold to get ready for it. Luckily it has felt fairly easy this year to get things ready. I will have lots of empty space after Saturday to start to prepare for surgery January 15.
Felt good to be in service to a family today. In a perfect world it would be easy to navigate through end of life care but that is not real world. I think someone could have a successful business helping people navigate our very broken system and provide a one-stop shop to help people through it. If I were 15 years younger I would consider doing that.
Sitting in a good head space tonight. Getting excited about having all the kids home Saturday. I love family days – they are my favorite days of the year. It will be a fun day and easy for me as the kids are all bringing part of the lunch.
Grateful to share my experience and knowledge with a family today, grateful I didn’t have to wear a coat today, and grateful Christmas is in two sleeps.