Raising Mom

Okay so I bought this Life Alert necklace for Mom. I must say it is pretty darn cool. The only issue is that she does not remember to wear it! It has the box where people talk to you and they have your whole life history so when you have an issue they know who is in the house. She also has an attachment so if she took a walk and got lost she could push a button and call 911...it also has GPS so that they could locate her. But when someone has no, really NO, short term memory it difficult to teach her how to use this stuff.

There are days when her questions become so painful. But then there are many others that I am blessed to have her with me. She loves the grandchildren -- we both came to California from the east coast to be with them. She loves her wine, she gets that every night. And she loves Hannah the corgi dog (even if she does not admit it).

Weekends are spent taking her out and about. It is odd that many things are still there for her. She likes to shop, she likes flowers around her, she likes going out to eat but always professes that she has too much food and often eats most of it. She loves to comment on all the people around her, not always nice.

I guess the core of who she has always been is there, it is just so sad to see that she cannot recall what she had for lunch or if she ate lunch. Or worse the afternoon at the beach with her precious great grand girls. But I think she is generally happy (as happy as my mother will ever be). People seemed surprised when I say I brought her to the west coast and I wonder why not? I hope someone brings me on an adventure at 83. Well got to go get her medications ready before I go to work. It is interesting raising Mom.

Dog Parks...

So my Hannah corgi has a new dog park and it is just around the corner. I have discovered that she is prey for the Big dogs but loves the smaller dog play area. Dogs are funny, as I watch the dogs it is much like the parade of folks I watch with my mother having coffee on Sunday mornings. Some are very social and chat with all the other dogs, some stay to the edges watching and sometimes running with the pack but on the fringe. There are the leaders, Hannah is not one, and there are the followers. But all seem happy to arrive and be in the midst of fellow canines.

I have thought about my own life, my limited networks of personal friends. I am great with the business world relationships (well at least I think so) but I do very little to build my network of friends. I think, in part, I work hard and then just want to rest at the end of the day. But I also know that I lack enthusiasm or drive for social interactions that requires small talk or general conversation. Not sure why but there it is. The irony is that when I push myself to go out and do things with others I usually find it fun. But I am not sure it is always relaxing. SO my new goal is to keep my radar on for opportunities to interact, to join groups and to meet people. I need to nurture the friends I have and find new ones. Guess I will keep watching the dogs for some insights and think about it just a little bit longer!