In this continuation of catching up on blogging is the story of what we did over Memorial Day. It was a busy one spent with our families, which was good and probably overdue.
Saturday Michael and I drove to Vancouver to help get my grandparents settled in at their new assisted living facility. It is only about 5 miles from my mom and dad's house, and having them so close is something that Mom has wanted for a long time. When they were in Dallas, it was just too far from all of their children for anyone to be able to visit them every day or every other day. It was more like once every 2 to 4 weeks. Now my mom can go over for an hour or two and take off when they need to rest or when she has something else she needs to do, and she can do it every day if she wants to.
Michael was asked to help unload the moving truck with the help of Uncle Martin, Uncle Brent and my dad. My job was to keep my grandparents company while their new home was being unpacked. We sat in the "library" at the facility--a lovely room with books lining one wall, a gas fireplace and comfy couches and chairs. My grandma loved sitting in front of the fireplace, even though it was one of the few days we have had when the sun has been shining. She's always on the cold side, so she happily sat there for about 3 hours, chatting with me and having an ice cream cone (the best vanilla I think I have ever had), while Grandpa tried to nap on one of the couches. It turned out to be too short for him to really stretch out and get comfortable, but he was able to close his eyes and rest that way for a bit.
When their room was ready, we all went up and met my mom and two aunts who had been unpacking Grandma and Grandpa's few dishes and knickknacks. Their furniture had been arranged to resemble as closely as possible the arrangement at their apartment in Dallas, mostly for my grandma's benefit. She gets confused easily, and everyone was hoping that if the new place looked like the old place, she might think she was still there, which would reduce the stress of being in a new environment. Sadly, this was not the case.
When it was time for everyone to leave, Grandma got pretty distressed. She almost looked ready to cry, at being left in a place she didn't recognize, with people she didn't know. She had thought that she and Grandpa were "just visiting," and would be returning to Dallas. My parents and Michael and I stayed to have dinner with them in the dining area, to try and help Grandma feel more comfortable. I could understand her distress, as the other residents stared curiously at them as we filed to a table. It was not unlike the feeling of being the new kid at school. Luckily, our group was too big to easily fit a table in the main dining area, so we were invited to eat in a private room just off the main one. It felt like we were in a real restaurant as our orders were taken by an extremely polite boy who looked to be just out of high school (maybe college), and reminded me very much of the boyfriend in the movie Juno--gangly and sweet and soft-spoken.
By the time we'd had our meals (and dessert, of course!), Grandma seemed to be calmer. She didn't fuss when Mom and Grandpa suggested she go upstairs and get her jammies on, and seemed to think it a good idea.
After some initial confusion about medications and Grandpa's oxygen tanks, they both seem to be doing pretty well at their new home. I'm looking forward to being able to see them more frequently too.
The next day, Michael and I went to a birthday celebration for our niece and nephew, Ryan (12) and Jessica (9). Their birthdays are both in May, so usually a day is chosen when schedules are free and that is the day that the extended family celebrates with them. We got to visit with Michael's sister Christy, her husband Dean, his father Kirk, and Michael's parents. It was a full house!
The kids wanted to play Monopoly with us on their WII gaming system and we naively took the bait, only to be trounced by a 12 year-old. This kid could match real estate wits with Donald Trump! Michael joked that we should get the game for our Xbox and practice on our own, then play with Ryan again and beat him. :) Competitive much?
Something I thought was pretty cool was that we ate dessert first! We all had bowls of ice cream with optional berries, almonds, and chocolate topping. Yum. Later we had cheeseburgers or salmon burgers, chips and salsa and potato salad. Even though it was definitely not ideal barbecue weather, the food still tasted good and it was great to catch up with everyone.
On the actual holiday itself, Michael and I started a mini spring cleaning of our home--kind of like the show Clean Sweep. We made lists and designated items to sell or donate, and moved the computer from our upstairs "office" to the downstairs dining area. It felt good to make space in our lives for new things . . . who knows what might happen? ;)
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