I have no desire to review the events of 2014 although many were good. Instead I will share the stuff of the last two weeks. One of the perks of laboring in public education is the holiday schedule, and Christmas holiday is nearly always two weeks. We hang on by our fingernails during the three weeks between Thanksgiving break and the beloved hiatus of December. By the time it arrives, I have a mental list of books I want to read, tv shows I want to catch up on, recipes I want to try and the daily naps I plan to take. Christmas holidays of 2014 were different. I still had the lists of books and shows, etc., but I also knew this would be our first Christmas without Dad and our last Christmas with Mom. It is the second Christmas we have not brought Billy home for our family celebration. During these two weeks, I have not read a book (not even one!), I have caught up on one show, and I've tried no new recipes. However, I have spent a great deal of time with my mom.
I listed all the highlights and lowlights of several months in a previous post, so I won't belabor those. We had a nice Thanksgiving and Christmas. Both were rather low key, but we all felt good about them afterwards. I spent a great deal of time with Mom, and I am so grateful for that. We have a good relationship, and God has granted me a calmness that allows us to discuss her upcoming death, what she wants and absolutely does not want in the way of a funeral, and so many other things that I never dreamed we would have an opportunity to discuss. The first week of these two I was able to take Mom to radiation treatments meant to shrink her tumor and lessen her pain. The trips to Texas Oncology were near torture for Mom because of her pain.
Early Friday morning after Christmas, I heard Mom calling me. I found her face down on the bathroom tile where she had fallen. I had checked on her a few hours earlier, and she was okay. I couldn't get her up and called my brother in law to come help me. We were not successful, so I called 911 - again. She was admitted with a broken nose, severe dehydration and low blood count. They pumped her with fluid and gave her some blood over the course of two days. During that time, Mom decided she would not have any more radiation, and she wanted to go home with hospice. That has been the theme of this week. I was delighted to have Billy and Kathy Futrell here for one night last weekend. I am so grateful for their friendship and support. Billy and my brother in law helped move my bed, and we have the master bedroom set up with a hospital bed and all the equipment Mom needs. We've met with the nurse, had two visits from the aide who will help Mom three times weekly, heard from the social worker, and met with the chaplain. We've also arranged to have an aide come daily (not part of hospice), so that I can return to work for now. God has provided what we need, and I am so grateful for having the time to handle all the details. Mom misses Dad so much, and she is ready to be with him again and really ready to be with Jesus.
While I cherish the time with my mom, I feel like I've missed out on some time with Billy. It's hard to catch him awake, so meal time is usually best. I know I'll find ways to see him - it will just take some time. He seems to be stable as I've not seen any big declines recently. I'm grateful for that.
I look forward to all that 2015 holds and all that God does in our lives. Happy New Year to all!
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! -
Psalm 107:1
