Tonight's picture was taken in January of 2005. Mattie was two and half years old and by this point was IN LOVE with the bath tub. Mattie could spend hours in the water if I let him. Not because he was getting clean, but he was playing with his toys and vehicles in the water. When Mattie was a baby he hated the feeling or sound of water, but with age, he was practically like a fish.
Quote of the day: Every single time you help somebody stand up, you are helping humanity rise. ~ Steve Maraboli
Case in point. This week while in physical therapy, the therapist could see that my mom and I were having a disagreement about my mom's ability to get down on the floor and then back up again. Given my mom's movement issues, I literally couldn't see in my mind how she could do such a complex task. A task that requires muscle strength. So Cassidy challenged my mom. She put a big gym mat down on the floor and coached her through the various steps one needs to do to get on the floor and then back up.
Needless to say, as I suspected my mom had trouble getting down and forget up getting off the floor. If she held onto something she can do it, but unassisted, forget it. I don't like calling her out on things, but for her own safety, I feel it is imperative for her to understand she has limitations. That her insights into her abilities now are flawed.
If you ask my mom whether she has sleeps well at night, she will say that she does. However, it doesn't explain why she requires so much sleep by day. Other than to me this is part of her own memory issues. Issues she doesn't want to accept. I honestly do not know how my parents lived on their own in Los Angeles toward the end. Neither is fully intact to manage the day to day challenges of life.
My mom mentioned to me today that she has frequent flyer miles that are going to expire soon. I asked her why she was telling me this? Was she planning on going on a trip? I know my mom is stir crazy at home and would like to travel, but frankly she is unable to do this alone anymore. Which is a sad reality. She wants to give me the miles, but again I reminded her, how can I get away? I am balancing too many caregiving responsibilities. I can't go out to lunch with a friend, much less travel! She did absorb what I was saying but I do not think my parents have a solid understanding of how my life has been transformed since they moved in.
The highlight of my day today was walking in the rain with Peter and Sunny. I feel for Sunny, as I know he misses our daily walks together. Whenever I can carve out time, rest assured I am out there with Sunny..... as walking in nature is therapeutic for both of us.
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