Well, I knew the day would come, and even though it’s been almost a year since she arrived in Florida to be my caretaker, my mom went home to Georgia Wed. night. When I came out of my bedroom Thursday morning, I found Jacob (who has made a habit out of joining mom on the couch at about 4AM every morning) sitting on the couch; then, he looked at me and said, “I can’t find Grandma.” It was just pathetic. I told him that she went home and then distracted him before he started crying.
It’s definitely more challenging around the house and with Joshua now that she’s gone. For instance, I woke up Friday with a throbbing headache behind my left eye. God must have taken pity on me that day because Josh slept in which gave me just enough time to take a pain killer and lie down. I remained achy, but when I went to get him, the throbbing was gone. Amen. I’m also more tired because I don’t get any relief during the day if I have the kids since Joel is at work. Luckily, it’s not going to be like that every day. Abuela will still help me out by watching Josh on some days, so I can go to my appointments and continue to recover. Jacob wants attention, but he’s completely capable of entertaining himself if necessary. I find time with him to be less strenuous.
I did some more rearranging. There’s a lot more space in Josh’s room because mom kept a lot of her things in his closet. We have more floor space as well. I took ownership back of the laundry room – the one task my mom never really handed over before her departure.
It’s a lot more quiet. At times, it’s nice, and at others, it’s a bit lonesome. She was with me so long that it’s weird to be “alone.” It’s the one thing I was denied for such a long time. Moffitt literally told her that she had to be “attached to my hip” to insure I was okay.
I think she misses seeing me too. She’s called me every day since she left and we never used to do that. I know that the frequency will go down with time, but I don’t mind for now. Apparently, she’s got plenty to keep her busy. When she got home, she discovered that her toilets exploded – or more precisely, it looks like a pipe broke and water leaked everywhere. She’s got mildew and no water. Thankfully, yesterday she told me that she was able to get hot water to run to the lower trailer where Reggie used to live, so she would finally be able to take a shower. It’ll be a couple of weeks before her house if livable. I feel guilty, but as mom always says, “It’s par for the course.” She also said that “it could be worse.” Pray that all works out for her in the end.
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A bittersweet milestone for sure. My parents leave in a month….