Smiles 9/3/15

Yes, I smiled when I saw Mom wasn't sleeping this afternoon.  She was up, dressed in the same clothes as yesterday, which confused me a bit.  Then I realized the clothes I'd laid out for her to wear today were still lying on her bed--figure she must've taken off her clothes yesterday, laid them next to those I'd selected, then just put those she'd taken off back on today--all was fine.  I saw no stains or spills.  Somehow I want her to look fabulous each day--free from those stains and spills that mark the clothes of those whose eyesight is waning. Because my time with Mom was tight today (needed to help a friend with a massive household cleanup), I whizzed through the to-do checklist in her apartment.  I again smiled that it appeared she'd eaten dinner last night--did those dishes.  Found her PBS station's nightly repertoire and set the channel, and saw she had food for dinner.   A quick cup of coffee in the dining room--but again the slow, labored walk there.  So good for her to walk, so tough for me to see how much time and effort it takes her now to do so.

Fun to talk with Anne via Skype while we drank our coffee there, and Mom and I reminisced that during my year in Germany, we'd sent cassette tapes back and forth via mail--took weeks to carry on any sort of conversation or answer questions.  Now--presto--we chatted and laughed and plotted, all in real time.  Amazing.  Both Mom and I love the technology, and I love that she appreciates and is in awe of it.  I remember Grandma Elsie commenting in 1969 that she was driven about in a horse and buggy as a kid and now there was a man on the moon.  Amazing wonderment.  Smiles all around.