The Past Few Weeks

A couple of weeks ago, my dad and I loaded up his trailer and drove my daughter up to her new home in Idaho, where she will be attending college. This new phase of life is very exciting and even more so because she is going to my alma-mater! It was so much fun reliving memories and traditions of when my parents took me up to college 15 years ago. We took her to her first dinner in Rexburg at the same restaurant my parents took me too. We have some funny memories of our dinner there 15 years ago...let's just say our service was horrendous and after our 2 1/2 hour dinner ordeal, my dad left the waitress with a penny tip and a note: TIP: To Insure Promptness. Yet, we went back. What can I say? We love tradition. My dad and I are both very alike in that; we have a sentimental side that loves tradition. Luckily, our service was completely opposite this time around and it was fun sharing those memories with Maurina.

We took a trip down memory lane and toured the campus (which has changed a lot) and I shared stories with Maurina about my glory days. I reminisced about Mother's Week-a week in which all the mothers came to visit their kids at college, went to class with them and attended various activities put on by the clubs and programs. I have such fond memories of the 2 years that my mom came up to visit me for Mother's Week. It was bittersweet thinking about them.

Before we left, I tried and tried to get my mom to understand that Maurina was leaving for college. I wanted to spark her memory of those happy days when she took me off to school, explaining to her that Maurina is going away to the same college I went to, but any memory mom may have is now hidden in a deep place. She understood my explanation of college about as well as I can understand calculus-which is not very well. Before we left, Maurina tried to give grandma a hug and tell her she was going, but mom hardly acknowledged her and stood still while being hugged. Later, Maurina resigned to the fact that "grandma probably won't remember me by the time I come to visit at Christmas."

Though the trip was a little bittersweet, it was mostly sweet. Even though mom couldn't join us, I will forever have those memories to hold onto and cherish. I do have to say, I am very grateful for the people who helped out while we were gone on this trip. I really enjoyed the father-daughter time with dad. We always have good conversations and fun while we're out...even though people frequently mistook him for my husband rather than my father. Ha ha. This trip wouldn't have been possible without my sister and her husband, who spent their nights over with mom, and for my Aunt and church friends who made sure to be there to care for mom while we were out. It's important for caregivers to get a break, and dad sure needed it!

Throughout our 16 hour drive there and back, we had a lot of time to talk. We talked a lot about mom and about the future with mom. We have some really hard decisions to make; or rather, my dad does. Much has transpired over the past few months and mom is really to the point where she needs more care than we are currently providing. Yet, we aren't ready to think about a "home" for her. I honestly don't know if my dad will ever get to that point. But it's evident that we need to do something more than what we are doing, both to keep her safe as well as to keep her out of trouble. So...back to the drawing board. I suppose it's time to look into hired help.

Here are a couple of pictures of the trip we made when my parents took me to college. The second one was taken during Mother's Week. And I don't know why I look so wide in the picture; I think it's the dress ;)