So Many Things Have Happened

 I don't even know where to start.  

My Mom is still with us. It's been 3 months since she entered Hospice Care. She's lost all mobility, and she is eating minimal amounts of food. But most days, her mind is still sharp as a tack. Yesterday, she was telling us that she was going to get a pair of crutches and "walk right on out of that place". We tried to let her know that using a walker was easier than crutches, but she is adamant that she is going to walk right on out.  My sister finally gave up attempting to reason with her and told her "Just remember to put your pants on before you leave."

Oldest son has graduated with his PhD.  He defended his thesis back in December, but he finally got to walk across the stage and get hooded earlier this month! So once that happened, his PhD was retroactively applied back to his defense date in December.  But, he wasn't officially a PhD until graduation.  Go figure?  He's had a job in his field. It was offered to him in November, and he started after he successfully defended his thesis.  So now, all 3 of the kids are offically launched!

Covid.  After 2 1/2 years of feeling like I was playing a crazy game of Dodge Ball, I finally got covid.  It wasn't fun. I felt like I had the flu. My throat was on fire.  (En Fuego!)  I woke up the first morning I had symptoms and said to myself "Wow, I feel like I just had a covid sho.... oh ****." One at home covid test later confirmed my suspicions. That was a very boring week of not going anywhere or doing anything.

House repairs and improvements...

The house is full of black mold, lead paint, and asbestos floor tiles. We're moving out soon and then the house will be stripped back to the studs. As long as they're taking everything out, we're going to have them add some extra square footage and make the house "make sense".

Did I mention that all of our stuff has to be out of the house?  We are cleaning it out like crazy people. We've given a lot to the "ill" sisters - Goodwill and Landfill.  Can you believe that I found a paperback first edition of the Handmaids Tale in the basement? What am I going to do with that? I don't feel like I can throw it out.   

And there is the even larger question - where are we going to live for the six months that it takes to fix all of this?

There's more.  Oh, so much more. But that's the stuff that's been dominating our lives lately.

I'll write more when I get a chance. Thanks for checking in!