A Lovely Visit

Melanie and I went over to Mom's around 11:00am today. She was watching TV. I said I could take her to the bank to cash her check but she said Megan already did that last night. I bet her $10 she had a check in her wallet and won. That was easy money - Thanks Meg. Mom could not remember where her bank was but we eventually figured it out by checking the internet. Luckily it was near Towson Diner so I let her talk us into letting her treat us to lunch. We're now another $30 better off (actually I have to remember to put that back in her wallet).

After letting her do us that favor, we drove her around Picadilly Road to check out all the yellow ribbons set out for young Peter Gentry (while he's over in Iraq). He doesn't have as many lives as his father has so the community is worried for him.

So after doing Mom the favor of letter her treat us to lunch, driving her around Picadilly and Loyola's campus, I asked her if she could do a favor for me. She was hesitant but agreed. So we ended up taking an hour-long guided tour of Brighton Gardens. Do not, under any circumstances and pain of death, mention this to her unless she brings it up first. She joked about the fact that I got her out of the house for so long so that Quinn and Levelle could pack up her things. Actually, humor and sarcasm came in very useful today. Anyway, we met with Tanya as Linda was out of the office. Tanya damn near spilled the beans several times but we managed to escape without Mom knowing that anyone else had been there.

BTW, if someone wants to put Mom in there Alzheimer's care facility now, I'll vote against it. She does not need that. Yet. The one-bedrooms look fantastic though and the single rooms are not so bad either. I like the fact that they can come and go as they please. Mom loves the fact that cooking is a thing of the past but she hates the cost. I kept telling her that Stuart knows the details of the insurance that Dad bought for it so please let him or Danny give her the details.

Of course we explained that the costs ($150+ per day for the larger room) is not so expensive once you consider she'll no longer have to pay for food, cable, utilities, property taxes, home repair, lawn care, etc. Then as she went into the house she mentioned that the $150 was per person and she asked who was going to pay for the other three people living at Yarmouth. Who was that? Her sisters and Paul. I may contribute to Aunt Melmarie staying someplace out in Africa but I'll be damned if I am paying anything towards Aunt Doris Ann's care. I already help Paul with rent too so I am not paying for someone to help bathe him.

BTW, you all owe Melanie a hug. She said all the right things at the right time and Mom would not have walked in the front door without Melanie's input. Uncle Jim's visit yesterday played a big role too.

BTW, I still don't know what was so difficult about getting her to look at ALFs. She asked if we can go to St. Elizabeth's tomorrow to see which we preferred. Kidding.

Love to all.....