The Years To Remember

 I've been moping around catching up on laundry, banking, and cleaning since I got home on Tuesday. Walking is good therapy until I supplement it with a real therapist. This little red squirrel was hanging out on the deck the other day. The are very destructive little beasts, but also very cute. This cow was not pleased to see me, although I was glad to see the old farm coming back to life. My adventure gals sent me these flowers. I did venture up to Saratoga County Saturday night for a Full Moon Bonfire at  Brookhaven Winter Park. I got there an hour early due to a miscommunication error, but sat at the bar with a drink and talked to a couple of people. When my friends arrived, we then hiked to the bonfire where we hung out for a while, then back inside for some live music. It was nice to be out with friends again.  Me, Patty, Lyne, Geri     📷: Amyjean The bonfire! Me enjoying the company of friends. 📷: Amyjean I took a walk this morning after a few inch...

 My heart is aching still, as I mourn the loss of my  Mom. When we got her home on 1/4/24, the Hospice nurse said Mom's  status was "Imminent", which meant she was within 2 weeks of death. That proved to be completely accurate. She died on Thursday 1/18/24, quite peacefully. We buried her yesterday 1/22/24. The three weeks I was away from home were the most stressful days of my life. While there was plenty of sibling comaraderie, laughter and tears, there was also quite a bit of conflict and drama. Totally unnecessary from my perspective but you can't dictate how people deal with stress and loss. Millie, who we co-opted to become our therapy dog. My little brother. who belongs to Millie, made us dinner one night and visited Mom daily. Older brother came over to be with mom so sister T and I could take a short hike in the frigid weather. The day she died I elected to sit next to Mom for most of my 'on duty' shift until 3:30 am when sister T took over. I just h...

A friend once told me that our elderly family members often don't make it through the long, cold, and dark of winter. That seems to be true for my dear mama.  After we got back home after our quick Christmas visit, I got my brain an MRI to rule out various causes for my Vertigo/Meniere's Disease. It was challenging to last the 40 minutes in the capsule, moving and clanging me about, trying not to get an attack of vertigo. Then I spent my last precious day with Daughter just talking and making plans for a future trip together. It was sweet. On 12/28, I dropped daughter off at the airport and immediately headed west to mom's house as she was obviously in need of 24/7 care after our Christmas visit. I was 5 minutes from her house when my sister texted that they were at the hospital. I turned around and arrived there about 10 minutes later. It was a long waiting game as the medical team ran tests and worked to get mom stable. She was suffering from sepsis so IV antibiotics were...