Hospice

Good to be writing again after working 75 hours this Valentine week.  Noticed today that I was walking tipsy--probably dehydrated, so am trying to drink water.  I was talking to my daughter when I heard my other daughter crying like her heart was broken.  I thought someone died.  Turns out her boyfriend broke up with her.  So I have been reading on teen break-ups and what to do.  I talked to my dad for nearly an hour.  My mother has been categorized "hospice" and will be moved to the skilled care nursing home on Monday.  Tomorrow I will go to church and then to the hospital to help her with breakfast.

In the hospital

My mother is in the hospital and has had some tests to try to determine the cause of her pain.  Nothing has shown up in either her blood work or the scan.  She is on morphine to keep her comfortable.    I am not communicating well with my sister and a conversation with my father is difficult too.  I have had no problem with my brother because he is smart enough to refrain from putting in his two cents.  My husband is a good listener.

I will call the skilled nursing facility to check on the admission process for when my mother is discharged from the hospital.    Perhaps go to work a bit late, so I can make the calls.

A very busy week at the flower shop.  Long hours today and tomorrow.  We begin work at 8am and stay til the work is finished--could be midnight both days.  And Valentine's Day is very busy with constant last minute shoppers.  

I trained in martial arts yesterday.  I had worked 11 hours and needed  to expend some energy.  I also wanted to separate myself from the situation with my mother.    My sister called me while I was at class wanting to know where I was and to tell me to make arrangements with the nursing home.

I don't know when I can visit with my mother. Maybe steal an hour and go up to the hospital or wait until later in the week.  What point is there in going, if she is knocked out from drugs?  Her life has become a nightmare.  She is immobile, can't do anything for herself, and on morphine.  However, just two days ago, I went to the house and we laughed.  If this is her life, then I pray for release from her suffering.

Missed the boat, so to speak

I liken the flower shop to a huge cruise ship the week before Valentine's Day.  It departed port at 8am today and will dock at 7pm on Thursday.  Trouble was I wasn't aboard and am stuck on the pier.  I went to church and had this vague feeling that I was supposed to work at 9am.  But I talked myself out of that, saying only the designers had to work at 8.  So I was happily working around the house--folding clothes, unloading and loading the dishwasher--when I got a call from my son wanting to know if everything was okay.  Long story short...it was 10:30 and I was supposed to be in at 8am!  Now the store itself is only open from 11am-3pm.  So I got to work, irritated as could be  Even more  irritated that the display cooler was a disaster and my boss saying, "I told them to leave it when they asked."  Empty vases, dirty water the whole nine yards.  I priced and lugged buckets of roses and mixed bouquets from the garage to the front.  Had to reprice the rose dozens because I had priced them incorrectly.  One of our helpers was vacuuming and knocked against a round tiered glass display shelf.  The plastic supports broke and candy, candles and bears fell all over.  Repairing the shelves was a job for the owners.  One of the owners said that for a minute she thought I had found an incorrect price because I was running with a price sheet into the office.  And then one of our new people misunderstood an order and we had to hurry-scurry to correct it once the customer came in.  Only  4 more days and V-Day 2013 will be over.

Sunshine on my day off

So nice to sleep in this morning.  Once up and about, I drove to the dollar store and the flower shop.  I bought some sweetly scented pink and white roses for my mother  from my father.  Dad and I made soup--ground beef, veggies, tomato sauce, macaroni and a bunch of seasonings.  I met and chatted with my mother's aide for a while.  Rather amused because she wanted to know which large photo on the wall was me.  I am the dark haired daughter, the eldest.  At home I checked the sidewalks for ice since I had shoveled and salted before I left.  I threw a couple loads in the washer and vacuumed the carpet, and now I am relaxing.

My father said before I left.  "You know what I need.  I need help." And so we will try to figure this out.

Day off tomorrow!

High winds today, and perhaps this is the reason there was no dial tone on the store phone today.  A couple drove down from up north and a trip that normally takes two hours took  four.  They were on their way to Florida to help her mother put new shingles on her roof.  Twelve inches of snow had fallen and they had trouble seeing the expressway. Another couple drove in from Chicago to watch their daughter's swimming match.  She is a senior at the university.  Someone ordered a dozen red roses for his wife's birthday and at the end of the day, a woman and daughter bought fingerless fur lined gloves.  A father and daughter came in to buy flowers for the little girl's mother.    The president of the company drove over to check out the  phone line, but had to call the phone company.  I am off tomorrow to rest up for the holiday and nine consecutive work days.

I am reading a book about a young woman who is trying to survive the harsh Alaskan winter.  She is on a small island in the river.   She hopes to escape the island once the river freezes over.   The ice bridge is almost complete.  However she will have to face wild animals such as wolves.  She imagines that the wolves are friendly and are encouraging her in the struggle to survive.  I am almost finished with the book.  I like survival stories such as this one and Hatchet.

Beautiful Long Stem Roses 'Forever Young'

Blue Sky Haikus

Beautiful blue skies
Warm sunshine on my shoulders
Happy omen rays.

Doing what we need
Facing life's complications
Strength, hope and courage.

Ron is my support
Friend and love thirty eight years.
United by life.

Trying to transform
Ridding myself of badness
A new creation.