the weekend

Well Friday night kinda sucked. I didn’t get to sleep myself until like 1am then Mom woke me up at 2am to say that she was cold. After I get all the covers and blankets on her she then tells me she wet her pants. No big deal to me personally that’s why she wears the paper pants anyway. So I asked her if she wanted me to change her now and she said now. Well that was a big mistake. So then at 4 for another waking she now says she is soaked. Well yeah, she went again and these pants only hold so much, plus she sweats so bad being bald, her body has not adjusted to the no hair thing. I couldn’t tell the difference between what was sweat and what was urine. Seemed like everything was soaked, so, I got her up on the potty and started to remove it all. Fortunately, Kim heard me and got up to help. I decided that the best bet was to get mom onto the shower. I had bought her some of her favorite English lavender soap so I used that and she said it felt delicious after she got over being terrified by me putting into the shower. She was frightened that I would drop her or something. But when it was all said and done she loved it. Kim had striped the sheets and remade the bed and started laundry which was great so that after the shower I was able to get her back into the bed. Also, I learned that Mom talks in her sleep and is constantly calling my name asleep or not so I must have gotten up every hour fire station ready and only once was it a real call. I am so tired this weekend.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 On Saturday we got up and got started late around 1 or so. Kim made us all breakfast and we ate at the dining room table. Then we went to the old Kmart which is now Sear essentials to go shopping. We picked up some hangers, some black sandal/flats, a new  leather purse that I picked out and some other stuff I have now forgotten about. By the time we got back it was time to get ready for dinner. I wanted to take Gram and Mom to Pacific Wave to eat and use my monthly allotment to do it. The owner Dan and I have become good friends and he know the situation with mom and welcomed me with open arms. Only one problem, it was a Saturday night and even though we got there at 6:30pm the place was hopping and the noise in the place became unbearable for Mom and Gram. Gram must have told me at least 3 different ways how miserable she was and how fine dining should be quiet and how the times have changed and such. I get it but it is what it is. Fortunately, Dan was very understanding and he even offered for them to come back in a couple of weeks on a Tuesday night instead when it will be quieter. That will be nice. I will have to plan ahead for that. On a positive note the loved the food although mom’s appetite is diminishing and she hardly touched her food she did say it was nice and I could tell everyone knew we were stressed because the cocktails for me were strong. Gram’s was too strong for her and to be accommodating Gene or server brought out her scotch in a sidecar with some ice and water for her to mix her own. Funny thing was she downed it all and was hammered herself and crashed immediately when we got home. Mom had a glass of Cabernet which she did not like. She complained that it burned her throat so I sent it back for a pinot noir and she that did the same thing. Gram wanted me to get her a burgundy which of course they did not have so she just drank the pinot and said nothing more about it. She was so tired she was despondent anyway. She is becoming more and more tired but unfortunately she only seems to sleep in bursts. The longest of these is now 5 hours and that typically is right after her sleeping pill.

Saturday night was much like Friday as far as my lack of sleep but Mom only had one bathroom trip she called me for a couple of small things but mostly I didn’t sleep because she kept saying my name in her sleep and I kept getting up to see what she wanted to find her snoring. After the cocktails I was dragging ass but at 11:30 today I forced us all up and we headed to breakfast Mom’s treat. She wanted eggs again with grits and bacon and we started off with cracker barrel in mind but with it being Sunday the parking lot was completely full so I suggested waffle house which is on the next block. We got right in and even got a handicapped parking space. I had a couple of eggs, some scattered, smothered, covered hash browns and a waffle. Our waitress and the place seemed really disjointed the cook was slow the server was not kind and forgot my covered (cheese) on my hash browns but everything else was tasty. Mom was out of it wand we still had some shopping to do. Kim had asked mom how she was doing and Mom said she was tired and ready to lay down. SO Kim said as I often do Mom we are eating breakfast now. Mom snapped yelling at Kim telling her not to treat her like a child that she knew were she was, Kim got up from the table crying and I had to sternly talk to Mom again about snapping at people. It was uncalled for. She doesn’t do it to me but I am the only one she doesn’t do it to. I explained again to Mom that her response to everyone always is that she is tired and that she had only been out of bed for an hour, that Kim was not talking to her like she was a child but that Mom gets spacey and either doesn’t respond or says a comment not pertaining to the question to begin with and this is at the least frustrating. When Kim came back to the table Mom apologized we then headed out after I paid up.

I jumped on the interstate and was at Sears in like 8 minutes. We parked right up front and headed in. I wanted to get some more hangers for mom’s clothes which I spent time this morning organizing and a couple of aprons for when she eats. She wanted some khaki pants. We needed a new toothbrush as she threw hers in the garbage last night after she threw the wipe she wiped her but on the toilet in there. Sometimes when she is spacey she does very illogical things; that being one example. The toothbrush was too big for her anyway as she always says she likes kids toothbrushes. We were looking at clothes and she became fixated on getting Gram another housecoat. They were all like $16 and Mom didn’t like the price but kept looking anyway I finally said we needed to go and we headed out. On the way we stopped at CVS so I could get her a gift card for Miranda to stick in the mail for her birthday on Tuesday.  King, Mom’s nail tech friend works in Clearwater but brings her son over to St. Pete to visit with old friends on Sunday and she volunteered to come by every other week to see Mom and do Gram’s and Mom’s nails. Since Mom wanted a nap Gram went first, then Kim and I just got Mom up. That gave her a 2 hour nap. The first thing she said was that she was cold. And when I explained that I got her up for King and put her in the wheelchair and rolled her out to the dining room where King had set up shop Mom said David, can I lie down. I said no, mom your going to get your nails done, I’m cold to which I just grabbed her knit cap for her head and threw a blanket over her and promptly came back here in the bedroom to write this note…

Gram for dinner offered to buy the $5 little Caesar’s pizzas again. They suck so bad I just believe it. So I said let’s just wait and have Mom decide what she wants for dinner. But it looks like I might be sunk since Mom is still tired. Kim used the bananas that were going bad while gram was getting her nails done and baked a banana bread. I love it when she is domestic!

I am going to go over the rules sheet I posted earlier with Arlene tonight before we leave and show her how mom’s clothing is organized and such.