Howdy, germ-fighters and friends, can you believe this is the last Thursday of the MONTH? Which means it is time for my Thankful Thursday 03.2020 post. Always happy to link up promptly with Rebecca Jo for her gratitude series, which she publishes every week. Like Rebecca Jo, I certainly have many things for which to be grateful. But I just struggle to get my act together to get a post written every Thursday.
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THANKFUL THURSDAY 03.2020
These are tumultuous times. I turn on the news in the morning and sit paralyzed as I watch the stock market numbers plummet and the number of cases of Covid-19 skyrocket. And somewhere in between, there’s still much to be thankful for. Here are some of the things I gave gratitude for this month in my “Good Days Start With Gratitude” journal. Except I always end my day by writing in my gratitude journal before going to sleep.
This month I was particularly grateful for:
- rain (March is the second driest month in El Paso, with an average of .3″ but this year we have received about 1.5″ of rain)
- safe trip home from Phoenix
- our kitties were happy to have us home
- the stray kitties we feed were happy to have us home
- playing pickleball with new friends
- finding my book club read at the library
- sense of accomplishment from cleaning my closet (now to get my purged clothes to consignment before they wind up back in said closet)
- Cami’s ultrasound for abdominal issues came back normal
- my Prince brought me a DQ Blizzard
- long hug from Cia
- Brennyn, Mustafa and Cady had a wonderful trip to Disney World
- our trees are flowering and greening up
- PC’s baseball team, the EP Yankees, had a big win
- our plumbing leak was fixed and the new spigot is so neatly plumbed
- mom fell but didn’t break anything
- my mom called me (hasn’t been able to dial the phone since her stroke)
- the bloggers who joined me for 10 on the 10th
- my friend Susie donated to Valerie’s Relay for Life
- my sister Valerie was able to get on a plane for Kentucky immediately when mom was hospitalized
- I was able to fly out the next day
- Kevin was able to get home early to KY from Las Vegas
- Country Place accepted mom for rehab
- the maintenance men are going to move mom’s apartment for her
- her doctor took the decision of mom’s placement after rehab out of our hands
- Cia loved her birthday bike
- mom fell at rehab and didn’t get badly hurt
- poppies are bright and beautiful
- PC took me to see the poppies
- Brennyn’s hospital is tightening restrictions, she has a mask to wear everyday
- Francisco’s job worries seem to be abating
- shelter in place is in effect
- my father-in-law fell and broke his leg in 2 places but was able to get into an orthopedic specialist the same week
- reading with Cady over Facetime
There are still 6 days remaining in the month. Hope that by 04.01.2020, Covid-19 cases will be on the decline everywhere, the stock market will be rebounding and our world will be returning to normal. Or even better than normal.
Mom Update
My visit to Kentucky was heart-breaking in many ways. Mom had a stomach virus and was taken to the ER by EMS on a Wednesday. They released her saying we, her family, didn’t want her admitted. Completely FALSE. That night Mom got very sick in her apartment and pushed her fall button so EMS would come to her apartment. They took her back to the ER very early Thursday morning. My brother was out of town for work. My sister was on spring break from school so was able to jump on a plane in Houston to get to mom. I flew up the next day. Kevin returned home on Saturday.
Mom was hospitalized until Tuesday at which time she was released to go to rehab. We were blessed to be able to get her into rehab on the same property where her current apartment is. But the doctor said she is no longer able to live without 24 hour nursing access. She will transition from rehab into a personal care unit. And it is going to break her heart.
The doctor tried to explain to Mom that she needs nursing care, and we have all tried to explain it to her. But since the stroke, a lot of things just don’t ‘compute.’ She doesn’t understand that no matter where she would be right now, it would be a shelter in place situation. She cannot figure out how to use her call button at the rehab center even though the occupational therapist has worked with her on it everyday. Mom just screams out when she needs a nurse. I wish, I wish she could be here with me.
PC’s Parents
My father-in-law has many serious health problems including heart issues and diabetes. On Tuesday night he fell in the bathroom of their home and broke his right leg in 2 places. He will see an orthopedic specialist today but diabetes prevents Wally from healing well. Not sure what the prognosis will be with broken bones.
My mother-in-law is still waiting for her court date for the fatal accident she was involved in last fall. Wrote a little bit about the accident, here. May has gone to court 3-4 times since the wreck in October but nothing has been resolved. Her next court date is 04.04.2020, but chances are very likely that will be postponed. The families of the victims and of course, my mother-in-law have seen their lives put on hold for six months, awaiting some resolution of this tragedy.
Your Turn
While there is so much to be grateful for, always, there are these big concerns that weave their way through our day-to-day lives. And I know we are not alone. We are blessed that PC is still able to work. Blessed to have enough food to eat, our comfortable home in which to self-quarantine.
How are you holding up? What things are you most thankful for this month? Praying you and those you love are staying safe and healthy. Please let me know in a comment below how things are in your world.
Sanitized hugs and kisses,
What a roller coaster month you have had. Glad your Mom is getting the care she needs and so much empathy for her struggle to cope with the changes in her life.
Such charming pictures of you and your family. Hold them tight in these times – not literally of course!
Thank you, Juhli. I got to see – from many feet away – my grands today. So hard not to grab them up in my arms.
Hoping April will be a kinder month for my mom. We know she doesn’t understand about being quarantined and having
to move into a personal care unit. But we have to do it to keep her safe. Hoping once she is in her new apartment
with her own things, Mom will feel better.
My husband’s great aunt is also facing leaving her home with assisted living and moving into a full time care giving facility. It is so hard since she does not see that she needs more help and she is both angry and saddened. I remember going through this with all my grandparents too and it is so hard all around. I also clicked on your back links about your mother in law and your re-cap of last year… boy, you all have sure had a lot of ups and downs! I am praying for you all; as well as my usual prayers that the number of Covid cases begin to decline and that our economy recovers OK once this all passes… But we do have lots of little things to still be grateful for. This week I was so grateful to find everything I needed/wanted at the grocery store. I was grateful to see we’re almost done all our schoolwork for the year; one of the earliest/shortest years we’ve ever had!
Love that you shared your gratefuls. I forgot to mention that I was thankful PC found ground beef!! Glad you found what you needed, too. We are waiting for the official word that the school year is over in our state but it hasn’t come down yet. The blessed state test was scheduled for April. So much goes into that…money, preparation, accountability. Afraid that might keep them from taking the measures they need to take in order to best keep students healthy.
Thank you for your understanding of the situation with my mom. Sadly, my mother’s parents truly just died. My grandfather had a fatal heart attack and my grandmother had a very brief battle with cancer. So we don’t come from a place of personal experience with my mom. She is sad, angry and so confused, especially since her stroke in February. Her long term memory is still in tact but she has lost so much of her recent memory. Heart-breaking.
Thank you for your understanding and sweet words.
I really need to start a gratitude journal. I love how much good you were able to find in such an overwhelming month! I’m glad your mom is getting the care she needs and hope she will be feeling better soon!
Jill – Doused in Pink
Hope you soon have your gratitude journal so you can enjoy writing your ‘thankfuls’ like I do!!
Thanks for sharing your days with us. It’s very reassuring to know that there are other people experiencing the same ups and downs of life. I also have very elderly parents and can really relate to your experiences with your Mum.
Love your email address, Helen! So glad you stopped by my blog and left a comment. It is reassuring to know that I am not alone in experiencing these trying times with my mum. I love her so much and wish, ten years ago we had moved her here. Although, I would have had to fight with her to get her here even then. My brother lives in the same city as she and he is her pride and joy. But he travels and he is a male!
Anyway, I am thankful to make your acquaintance. Hope you will visit again. Stay well, my new friend.
Your precious momma
so many good things to be thankful for!!! … I love how big your 10 on 10 is – its always so fun to see everyone’s answers.
I always get giddy too when the book is at the library that everyone is reading. Its like a WIN!
Stray kitties – good for you giving them some food!
Thank you, darling friend, for always inspiring us to be grateful. I am so thankful to have met you. And hope to continue our friendship for years to come.
We all have so much to be thankful for and yet many times we tend to focus on the opposite.
I totally understand about your Mom. Went through a similar situation with my Mother, but she had Alzheimer’s and understood nothing. She did adjust, but it took awhile. Praying for your family.
Grace & Peace,Iris
http://www.IrisOriginalsRamblings.com
Thank you, my friend. I appreciate your prayers for our family. Mom had a good day yesterday, and even cracked some jokes. Thankful for that.