It was a beautiful Saturday, all I wanted to do was put on a bathing suit and float in the pool that my awesome sister Ann had given to us.
Up here in New England we don't have too many lazy and hot summer days so when we have one I like to indulge myself in nothingness.
The week was totally crazy for me.
Wednesday night, Savita the Cat jumped up on the arm of my chair and faced me so that I could see her swollen little face. I noticed one of her canine teeth was sticking out; she had a narly looking tooth. Immediately I knew I needed to bring her to a vet on Thursday.
Oh boy, one more thing to add to my to do list. My plan for Thursday was to go and pick up Uncle Al since I hadn't taken him out in nearly a week.
However, plans changed, Savita needed some medical attention.
As though there wasn't enough going on, my mom looked at me on Thursday morning and said to me, "You're not Sue."
Man, really? You are going to forget who I am today?!
I contacted her doctor and asked him what we can do to help her with her memory. He suggested that I go and get Helleborus and give her 5 pellets. It was the homeopathic remedy that he had given her in his office a couple of weeks earlier that seemed to do the trick for her memory.
Off we went in search of Helleborus. No one had it. Whole Foods didn't have it. GNC didn't have it. AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I had to find it.
Fortunately, I found the remedy in a small town about 35 miles west of where I live. My mom took the pellets as soon as we bought them. They seemed to work a little. The next day she was still confused so I had her take 5 more pellets under her tongue. Still not much improvement. I didn't want to give her any more just in case more would have an opposite effect to our desired outcome - sanity.
Through all of this, Rachel wanted to go to the Registry to take her vision test to have her drivers license renewed. She's been driving around with out a license since January. She was waiting to have her cataract surgery done because she believed she'd easily pass the vision test once the cataracts were removed.
Much to her dismay, the surgery didn't go as well as she had planned. Her vision hasn't been good enough to pass the vision test so that she can legally drive. She had been driving anyway, which needless to say, freaked me out.
We have been able to convince her that she needs her license in order for her insurance to be valid and so that she doesn't end up in a boat load of trouble which could be avoided by using common sense. In the elderly mind, driving is a right, not a privledge. Oiy!
Somehow, after months of expressing my thoughts about her driving, she has finally stopped driving herself around town. Now, I take her and my mom wherever they want to go. It's a bit tiring taking both my mom and Rachel out, especially when my mom is slipping down the dementia slope and Rachel just wants to run in and out of stores. She's not a shopper like my mom and me.
So, how does this all tie in to Uncle Al's birthday? All week I wanted to take Uncle Al out for his birthday but just didn't have the time to give to him. The weekend was here and I was torn. Do I take the day to do what I want or do I give my day to Uncle Al?
Believe it or not I did not want to go and see Uncle Al. I was exhausted and needed a mental break from the insanity that I had to face all week with the moms and the cat's emergency.
Brian had different thoughts. He knew we needed to see Al. It was his birthday. My mom, she wasn't up for going to see him. She was still dealing with the thought that she couldn't remember my name.
It was now 10am on Saturday morning. I called Uncle Al and sang Happy Birthday to him. Then I asked him if he wanted to go out for his birthday. Of course he said YES! Followed by a "hurry up and get here."
We left my mom sitting in the living room with a pen and paper. She was writing down Donna and Ann's name and where they live. It was like she was giving herself some sort of test. When we got home, there were several post its stuck to the coffee table.
We arrived at the home around 1pm and Uncle Al was upset. Maryann had called. Uncle Al told her that I had called too and I was taking him out for his birthday. Unfortunately, she went nuts on him and yelled, telling him that I am a terrible person and how she doesn't want anything to do with me or my family (which is Al's family.) His daughter clearly hates me and blames me for all her ills in life. I do feel sad for Maryann and hope that one day she finds peace of mind.
Off we went with Uncle Al. The nurses had him dressed up and even gave him a shave. Al was happy to be going out with both Brian and me.
We took him to his favorite place, Rever Beach and got him an ice cream. Uncle Al was in his glory and enjoyed his special birthday treat. While we were standing along the shore and eating our ice cream, Uncle Al looked at me and said, "uh oh, I need to go to the bathroom." In all the excitement, I forgot to have Uncle Al use the toilet before we left. Damn!
Part of me wanted to say, "just go in your pants" because I knew he had a diaper on, but I couldn't get myself to say those words to him. Instead I looked up and saw the bath house about 1/4 mile away. We walked to the bathroom and I had Brian go in with Uncle Al.
Brian told me that once Uncle Al got inside the men's room, he saw an open stall and went into it. He was in there awhile so Brian checked on him. Al was using the toilet as a seat! He left his pants up and just sat down. He didn't need to use the bathroom after all.
It wasn't a big elaborate birthday celebration for Uncle Al, but it did mean a lot to him to see us.
All I can hope for is that one day, on my 83rd birthday, one of my nephews or neice come, spend time with me and take me out for an ice cream.
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