Sandwiched
As I shared last week, I had the chance to finally go into my mother’s assisted living apartment on Thursday, Oct. 1. I wasn’t prepared for what I saw – boxes upon boxes … in her bedroom … in her bathroom … in her kitchen.
You see, during the six months of our separation due to the pandemic, I’ve had to “guesstimate” what Mom’s needed as far as groceries. Some of them are cheaper to order on Amazon vs. get delivered from local stores. While I’ve tried to work with Mom on the phone to get an idea of what she’s running low on, sometimes I’ve not been able to reach her or leave an answering machine message.
My fear was that she’d run out of something important, like Fixodent for her dentures, and be left feeling helpless. Well … she certainly didn’t run out of anything, but now has an abundance of everything! The poor thing’s had a tough time getting around her little place in recent months as a result, so her apartment was quite a mess.
I texted my family about the situation, which made me feel helpless due to the fact that we only have a limited amount of time allowed per visit. My sister-in-law Janie offered to come help me last Tuesday morning so we could get Mom’s place in order. I was incredibly relieved!
And so, that morning, I donned the attire for what I fondly call the “Get Stuff Done Club” – GSD Club for short. I actually use a different word than “stuff,” though, but they can’t print that one in this newspaper.
With my workout clothes on and hair pulled back into a ponytail, I met Janie (also in GSD attire) and we divided and conquered. She took on the living room and kitchen while I tackled the bedroom and bathroom. The facility has one of those awesome wheeled carts like what you see in a hotel and I soon had it almost overflowing with items to put in my car.
In no time at all, we whipped Mom’s place into shape. I prayed I wouldn’t get pulled over on the short drive home, as I could barely see out the side and back windows of my Mini Cooper. None of the items are perishable, thank goodness, so I’m storing them in our garage and will bring over what she needs when I see she’s getting low on something. Which, according to my calculations, should be May of 2021.
Both Mom and I were grateful for Janie’s help. I’m hoping next week I can finally relax and actually chat with my mother vs. being in a frenzy trying to get her apartment cleaned, decorated, and checked for what items she needs.