Open Door Healing

My mom is a hoarder. She’s a clean horder, I mean everything is organized to a tee, well, it used to be until the dementia and Alheimer’s started taking her away bit by bit. She used to keep all kind of containers, “just in case”, empty butter, peanut butter plastic containers, bread ties, Starbuck stirrers etc. When we moved her from her duplex to her assisted living apartment 3 years ago, I found 8 empty peanut butter containers full of grocery store bags, at least 100 bread ties, and tops to plastic water bottles and a lot more. Let’s just say the recycling bin was filled over and over again. The only thing I could think she was saving the plastic water bottle tops for was maybe one day my step dad lost the top to his and yelled at her, so she made sure she some on hand, she just took things to an extreme. The other day my Hubby walked into the garage and saw on my shelf (yes, i have one!), were empty plastic containers and boxes. He asked me about them. I told him I was keeping them for the grandkids, 7 & 5, as Grandma Summer Camp starts next week, and we would find imaginative things to do with them. I promised him when school started I would toss them. He started laughing and said, “Ok, Venice.” I laughed too. Fifteen years ago when he called me “Venice”, I lost it. In my defense, I was in full blown menopause and basically anything anybody said I took offense to. But this time I didn’t. And don’t get me wrong, I love my mom, but as some can relate, she absolutely drives me bonkers. And this Alzheimer’s journey we are both on has not been easy on either one of us. I attribute to my not taking offense this last time to my Hubby’s comment is the continuing healing I am doing on our relationship, both my mom’s and Hubby. They are the two who can really push my buttons, Hubby chooses not to, as it makes his life easier, my mom is not aware that she does. I did tell my mom about Hubby’s remark and she started laughing, it was nice to hear her laugh, not something she does a lot these days. And the journey continues.