Open Door Healing

I had lunch with my mom today. Right now it is a little more stressful because I also have my two grandchildren ages 6 and 4 with me for Grandma Summer Camp. I only have them Monday-Wednesay, so I could change the lunch day of Tuesday for my mom, but she likes seeing them and also, any change in schedule upsets and confuses her. Lunch was ok, we went to Olive Garden, and the grandkids were as well behaved as a 4 and 6 year old can be. When we got back to my mom’s assisted living apartment, which by the way she keeps at a sultry 80 degrees, one of the housekeepers was bringing back her clothes from being washed. The housekeeper had a note on one of mom’s sockettes that the other one was missing and probably had been left in the apartment, which it had not. Mom asked me if I would go through the clothes with her. She writes down what she gives them as she has had problems with not getting all her clothes back. I checked her list against what was brought back, and 3 items were missing, 1 sockette, 1 pair of underwear and a pair of light green pants. I photo copied the list and told her I would take it up with someone in management. She said she could do it, but I replied that sometimes things get done faster if a family member gets involved. She also complained about the washcloths not being folded right; they were inside out and not perfectly square. She was going on and on about how those people needed to be taught how to do things right. I am trying my best to be patient with her, but I finally told her that maybe she was the only one who cared, and honestly, did it really matter that the washcloths were perfectly squared? That is how she taught me to do it, but I don’t care, I just fold mine to fit in the closet. I gave up perfection a long time ago. I was going to take the grandkids to a local pet store that is near my mom’s as a special treat, they have children’s activities there, but by the time mom and I had finished with her clothes and such, the grandchildren were very antsy, I was exhausted, hot, and I just wanted to go home. I am grateful that my grandchildren took off to their rooms to play so I could brew a cup of coffee and unwind. I honestly wanted to curl up in ball and sleep for 72 hours. What a luxury that would be, or so I think, heck at this point I would even take 6 hours straight sleep. I am grateful for this 45 minutes of downtime, grateful that my grandchildren are old enough now to play with each other and keep themselves occupied for awhile and I don’t have to be “on” constantly. And, I am very grateful for afternoon coffee. Blessings.