Day One - Welcome Home!!

It hit me long before the big event on December 27th that there is a beautiful story in witnessing the circle of life. I love reading about my friends becoming parents and grandparents...and it occurred to me that taking care of people you love is a universal experience. One that you can relate too...even if you are not a parent or a grandparent. As a granddaughter I have been lucky to care for my grandparents...but it does not compare to the touching experience of watching my mother really and truly care for them.

2010 was a year of changes and adjustments for my family...and 2011 has not started without this same theme. As I was driving to CVS tonight it hit me...bringing Grandma home today was like bringing home a new baby (well...from what I remember when my sister came home, reading facebook, and blogs - Kelly V especially). You are scared. You are nervous. There is much shopping to do. There is a feeling that your life is going to change...because it is...in amazing ways that you could never predict. And...there are new toys!!

So, in the spirit of my love of lists...here is a list of some of the new toys we have...

* Hospital Bed
* New Wheelchair...ahem...which may have pink on it
* Oxygen (I learned a lot about this tonight...I feel like the family expert on this one!!)
* Air Mattress and Pump
* Transfer Board
* Ramp
* Hoyer Lift
* Foot Pillows
* Lots of Pillows, Flat Sheets, Bed Pads, Blankets, and Pillowcases
* Oral Swabs
* Many, Many More Prescriptions
* Cute Puppy Stuffed Animal with a Rose in His Mouth

Hmph...who would have thought I could write a list that did not include Vera Bradley?? See...these are the life changes I was just writing about.

A Four Letter Word...

I have been meaning to blog since a long while back because there was so much fun to share...an amazing Thanksgiving and Christmas. Trips to Annapolis. Shopping. And then everything changed. Late in the evening on the eve of Tuesday, December 28 something bad happened. Our biggest fear. The one thing we were working really hard to prevent. A massive stroke.

It was a bad one...I know there is really never a good kind of stroke to have...and believe me...you do not ever want to have one. But you don't EVER EVER want to have one affect the left brain...it is...devastating. The previous two last March and April were a cakewalk. I have to say...my Grandma is a rockstar. With tremendous deficits she still smiles...she yearns to walk...she yearns to talk...she is just freaking amazing. And it is this amazing spirit that must be hereditary because in terms of caretaking...my Mom is even more freaking amazing.

I don't want to sugar coat things...I think that writing to cope is going to help. I feel this overwhelming need to write about all of these new experiences, especially since as a family...many of the things we are learning and dealing with are things that were our biggest fears. The things you think "I could never do that" are the very things that shape you into a better person. Even if you have no energy and feel that are you are running on empty...there is this fuel that drives you. I think it is a four letter word that starts with an L and ends with an E.

Neat Finds...

I am addicted to purses...there is no denying it...but not every single one has to be Vera Bradley. I feel in love with a great store in Annapolis...Vivo!. The store features works from local artists...and there was a purse I just had to have. It had owls!!! And being that I was there in November at the end of National Novel Writing Month...a few thousand words away from 50,000 words I had to get the painting too. I love a good inspiration...and the pink and teal were so perfect...so me. I also bought a few journals. I'm excited to go back soon to see what other things I will find.

A cute store tucked off the beaten path of Main Street whose cute heart sign outside of their door lured me in..."Shop Local, Eco-Friendly, Fair Trade, Handmade, Recyled, and Vintage". I sort of had a shopaholic moment while there...especially since I had just been to Lilly Pultizer. I was on a high. I kept finding more and more things that I wanted. The store reminded me of how the truly special things are hand made...and how amazed I am at the creativity of people. There is great power in being able to create things with your hands. I don't have those skills...but I am happy to support those who do.

Mommy Knows Best...

I finally had some quality "Mommy and Me" time last weekend...my Mom and I did some Christmas shopping. I love how well she knows me. I love how she has been putting up with my super sensitive INFJ'ness for 33 years. I love how she loves me despite it!! From the get go in 1977, she has always understood me. How I worry. How I fret. How I work hard. How I need to remember to have fun too. Have I mentioned how she used to tell me when I needed to stay home from school to just chill out?

In our flurry of shopping fun, she had yet to find something to get me. I was telling her how boring I am in that my hobby (writing) is pretty uninteresting in terms of gift gifting. There are only so many journals and pens you can give a person. I was talking about how all I do is work...so may be there was something work-related that I needed. And then, like a mirage on the desert sand, a store appeared in my view from Rockville Pike...Shoe Retreat. Shoes!!! A work necessity!!

As if knowing that Santa was going to shop there for me, the Couture section had many, many lovelies for me to choose from. My Mommy bought me two pairs...and get this...they were further reduced at the register!! Under the tree for me?? Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman. Aren't they pretty???