The Family Split-Up

Well, the time has come for us to split up. Mom is going back to Kansas City after a long two years in California. Her disease has progressed to point that we really can't care for her like she needs. With both of us working and Dave out of town all week, we just found that she needs more interaction with people.

For the past couple of months we have had a lady (sometimes accompanied by her boyfriend) come to spend 2-3 hrs in the afternoon with Mom. A benefit was that Cathy wanted to learn to cook so, she also cooked dinner for us all. I planned the meals, shopped and provided the recipes and she had dinner ready when I got home. I loved it!

Now, one week of the status quo left and it's kind of scary that it has arrived so quickly! Knowing an event is coming and being prepared for it are SO different. Come to think of it, that's the way it all started. 1) We found out Mom was out of money and we had 2 weeks to move her. 2) We found the perfect house. 3) Our friends helped us move in on Saturday and 4) Mom arrived on Tuesday.

The next new abode can be found just as quickly and end up just as perfect. The Lord told me it would be a stressful time but He thought we were equal to the challenge. We looked at a 3-bdrm duplex today. The master was barely big enough to hold our (king size) bed! It is all on the same level though. A good thing for old people... We will go tomorrow to look at other places and get started packing -- again.

We both really love the house we've been in--the layout, the pool, the yard, the fruit trees, the roses--but know the Lord will provide something good as a replacement. The kids will probably come one last time this spring before we leave California for the Eastern environs. It would be great to have a place big enough for them to stay with us.

In a way this change is sad. Mom has changed so much over these 2 years and I think that has been one of the sources of our difficulties with her. The (mental) person she has become is not the person she used to be. And, we have found that those disappointed expectations are such a part of living together and put a heavy strain on our relationship.

We are all on the threshold of a new season in our lives and what it holds is yet to be seen! Scary and thrilling all at the same time; I want it to be over so we know the outcome yet also know the need to go through it--ups and downs--so we can TOTALLY enjoy the end. I'll let you know how it works out...