The best laid plans of mice and men 'oft go awry. ~ Robert Burns
Several years ago many of us bloggers posted a project for each month as a way of challenging us to get some things done. I did accomplish quite a bit that year, but I also found it a bit stressful. I was both surprised and relieved to find others felt the same way.
So this year my plan was to have one major project or goal to accomplish every two months. I was making progress. I honestly thought I could finish a non-fiction book I've been attempting to read the last two years before the month was out. We finished picking up pecans at our house and most of Mrs. Bryan's house so we could get them to the sheller. I had planned to pick up all the sticks in the yard from the last few storms and till my garden to have ready for planting next week.
But on Monday, January 23, when we called Jean (my mother-in-law) to see if she wanted to ride along as we took ours and hers pecans to be shelled, she didn't answer the phone. Bobby tried her cell phone. She didn't answer that either. We weren't too concerned as she would forget she had gotten the paper or what time the mail ran and would check those things over and over throughout the day. Sometimes she would forget to take her phone with her when she went to the mailbox. We finished getting ready for the day and Bobby tried to call her again. Still no answer.
When we arrived, the lights and tv were on and the door was unlocked. Again, not unusual for that time of day. I rang the doorbell, which she didn't hear anyway 90% of the time, knocked on the inner door on the porch, and went on in. She was asleep on the couch. I called her name a few times, but figured she didn't have her hearing aids in. As I approached, I quickly realized several things were not right, so I immediately went back outside to Bobby and told him we needed his sister. We passed on the road. I took her spot of homeschooling her kids and she went to the house where Bobby joined her and they called the paramedics. Once the EMT arrived and they place her on the stretcher, she coded. After a while of CPR and they started discussing the paddles, Bobby called it and told them she had a DNR order. Since Bobby's sister had healthcare power of attorney and we could provide the paperwork and her doctor confirmed she was in the middle stages of Alzheimers and had a history of heart/blood pressure issues, they agreed to stop trying to revive her.
The last two weeks have been a blur. I was shocked yesterday to discover we were in the month of February, and Bobby agreed with me yesterday when I told him I didn't even know what day of the week it was. We have accomplished a lot, but there is still so much to do. One of his sisters will head back home tomorrow. I think that will be tough the first time we go to the house and absolutely no one is there.
Today is my first real day at home. The siblings are all meeting at the house today and making some decision on things. Unless they call and tell me to come later this afternoon/tonight, I will be trying to get caught up on things here. We'll probably work there again most of tomorrow and a little bit Saturday, but then we'll have to take a break for a week or two as Bobby has his surgery and recovery. Hopefully after that we can get into a new, temporary routine between home and dealing with the estate. The words from Steve Green's Find us Faithful keep running through my mind as I sort through pictures and papers.
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