......over the weekend! Fill out the form now or wait until the next revision.
Just back from a week in Ann Arbor for work and was in Florida before that for mom's 90th birthday. My sister and I had arranged a small surprise party for her and had actually managed to get all siblings there (four of us from four corners of the country). Last time we were all together was 30 years ago! My DH and grandson and I took the Auto Train down, others flew or drove. Planes, trains and automobiles. But found out while we were in transit that an ambulance was added to the mix. Mom was taken to the hospital with difficulty breathing. Third time that month. She gets better but refuses to go to rehab to get her strength back and goes home where the cycle starts all over.
Anyway, there were sixteen of us there including my niece and her husband of
3 years, my son and his family, my sister, younger brother and his wife (parents of the niece) and my other brother. We had the party anyway since everything had been ordered and we needed to eat anyway. We had a grand time catching up on our lives and taking tons of pictures and toasting mom for her big day. Then we took the sheet cake and hundreds of balloons and tons of flowers and headed to the hospital to see mom. She was in a private room so we brought the party to her. I think she really had a good time. She didn't recognize my two brothers at first and we had some fun with that. We had my brother walk in first to surprise her (she knew my sister and I were coming down but had no idea her two sons would be there too). She thought at first that he was her brother since there is a family resemblance and then she thought he was my husband because they have similar hair color - until my husband walked in! Then she got it and had a good hug and some kisses from him. A sight to behold. Lots of history between the two of them but that didn't matter anymore. Then we all marched in! She was overwhelmed! We placed a tiara on her head and put the balloons and flowers where she could see and reach them. She was sitting in a chair since she had pneumonia from lying in bed for so long at home. They wanted her sitting a lot to help her lungs drain. We had cake and alcohol free sparkling wine in champagne glasses - she had 4 servings! We sang and laughed and told her stories. Two of my grandchildren were there as well which gladden her heart! She loves the little kids!Several years ago, mom had mailed me a picture that my Dad carried with him in his wallet. It was a picture of the four kids sitting on a bench, close together sideways. We spent the morning of mom's birthday taking the same picture of us four kids in the same pose and same arrangement. Then went to Walgreens and had them make copies of the best one. We framed the two pictures in a double frame. The gal at Walgreens started to give us a hard time about copying the older picture because it was a professional shot. Those types of pictures have to be 70 years old or older to copy them due to copyright laws. This gal had no idea who she was dealing with - she made us one copy and wished mom a happy birthday. I had originally thought we would give mom the photo for Mother's Day but everyone wanted to see her open it and I agreed. She loved it!
While my sister and I were with mom without the others, the doctor had recommended yet again that she go to rehab. She was adamant about going home. We could not force her to go but knew she would not heal at home.
We all met for breakfast the following morning and bid farewell to one brother. He needed to go back to work the next day and had a 14 hour drive ahead of him. He downloaded everyone's pictures to his laptop and then made copies for everyone on thumb drives. We hugged and kissed and watched him go.
The rest of us spent time at my son's for the rest of the day and visited with mom again. Most of us left the following morning after another group breakfast. More pix, more hugs and kisses. My brother and his wife were able to visit with mom one more time but we had a train to catch and my sister had a plane to catch.
We thought mom was going home from the hospital on Tuesday or Wednesday but as it turned out, they kept her for the week. She had not recovered from the pneumonia and was still getting breathing treatments. For whatever reason, my sister was able to convince her that she was better off going to the rehab facility; mom agreed and said she would do whatever we thought was best for her - my sister and I knew this was the best move for her. She would not be alone and she would get the medical care she needed as well as proper nutrition. So she went. They are making her walk every day but she doesn't have the strength to go far, but she also spends some time on their wonderful porch where she can spend time with other folks and see the flowers and trees outside. She sounds weaker every time I call her and I don't suspect she'll go home anytime soon.......if ever. But, we knew that day would come and are just comforted that she is not alone. We're glad we got to party with her and bring all of her children together - a daunting task to be sure for a variety of reasons. But I knew it was important and just told everyone to check their egos at the door. I must say I was never prouder of my siblings than I was for those few days! We were a family again - are a family again! To have my mom see that for one last time was beyond words.
Thank you if you have gotten this far in my story. I know I started out writing about the Directory and this was very long but I think I needed to write for several reasons.
The Directory form will close and then I can start to get the entries vetted and the data formatted. I had several volunteers to assist with that and I will contact them to see if they are still available. At any rate, I think the Directory should be ready to send out in 2 weeks or so. As in the past, the email address that is supplied will be tested to make sure it works. So watch for the test emails.
I guess that's enough for now. I wish everyone a wonderful holiday weekend! Enjoy the weather, but most importantly, hug someone you love, or better yet, hug someone whether you love them or not!