Hopefully a Tough Lesson Learned

When I was at my sisters last week Beth got up on her own, did her own hair and got out the door on time. But often when I'm here she depends on me too much. I know most of that is my fault.

So I've decided to let her continue to do things on her own. I got up this morning at 7:00 - out of habit - but busied myself in the kitchen, watered some plants, when I realized she wasn't even up yet. I started to go downstairs to check on her but then I remembered. 😊

She came upstairs a few minutes later, and you could tell she had just woken up. I stayed in the kitchen to watch for the bus (they ring the doorbell and we still had three people asleep) and I poked my head out the door when it arrived a few minutes later. The driver asked if Beth was ready and I told her I would check. She held up five fingers, "I can only wait five minutes." 

Beth was back downstairs by now so I went down - she was dressed and fixing her lunch. I told her the bus needed to leave by 7:27.

Beth never learned to tell time with an analog clock. They taught it in school, I have workbooks here at home that I would have her do. And in fact, I still have some of those books and worked with her on them even a few years ago. But it's something she just never grasped. 

(I was going to write how it took her 30 minutes to finally get ready but by then her bus had come and gone. She stood at the window just staring out at the empty driveway, then turned and went downstairs.) 

But there's a complete change in story now. I thought she just didn't set her alarm last night. But as I was writing the italicized paragraph she sent me a text:

'my alarm is 7:23   and my microwave too your oven and microwave is backward.'

I went downstairs and sure enough the time was 8:11 but her alarm clock and microwave read 7:15. I asked her if there was a power outage while I was at Aunt Debbie's and she shrugged her shoulders. 

So now I feel horrible that she missed her bus. It's things like this that make me realize we need help. I want to talk with her case worker about putting her on a different waiver with the state, and that will give us more support. Someone who will come in and help her with hygiene issues, help her clean her apartment, and even take her on fun outings. 

I guess I'm the one who's learning a tough lesson this morning.

So Much Fun, So Little Time

There's so much to write about, but so much happening around here I haven't had time to write.

I guess the first thing is that Beth and Chuck are both feeling much better. Still a tiny bit congested but they're back to their regular routines.

My visit with my sister was so much fun. She had always wanted to go skydiving but due to a knee replacement, and minor back issues her doctor advised against it. So my niece and I surprised her with indoor skydiving! She was shocked! Our plan worked perfectly! This is when she first realized what she was going to be doing - 

She had also wanted some nice photos taken so my nieces daughter did her make up and we headed outside for a fun photo shoot.

Then we headed out so she could learn to fly!

Each person got to go twice if they wanted to and she did! I thought she'd be too nervous to go at all but she wasn't. I'm so proud of her. At 70 years old, she 'flew' by herself. You can see in the second picture the trainer isn't even holding her.

Then we took her out for a family dinner at her favorite restaurant, The Olive Garden. She was overwhelmed. It was a great day!

We went for a walk at a local park, watched her tortoises eat lunch, (that pan is the size of a large pizza) and spent a lot of time just talking.

It was exactly what we both needed. We decided next time I need to spend a week there because it just went by so fast. We're the only two left of our original family of five. 

Back at home - I'm gearing up for Sunday school. The Leaders Handbook is finished, I've been working in the classroom, and I even had a wonderful assistant help me with the bulletin board on Wednesday.

And Diana and Adelaide arrive tomorrow night. I filled my car with gas, I'm getting the den ready for them, putting out toys, baby-proofing the house... I'm beyond excited to see them! So if you don't hear from me for a while, it's because I'll be  chasing a two year old around the house! And loving every minute of it!

I'll get back to visiting your blogs soon, I promise!