On the Move Again - This Time to Texas

Dad and I moved out of his long-time home last December as I wrote about a few months ago. Now, we are gearing up for a move to the lower SE of the Coastal Bend of Texas - near Corpus Christi. Quite a move for a couple of seniors - one who is now 87-years-old. We have our Penske truck on reserve and are just needing to find a home where we can land.

We are need there to help care for another family member. Sounds like I went from long-time work in hospitals to a new field of care giving. Unfortunately, when I worked in hospitals I was in the admin field, not working as a nurse. Thankfully, my daughter in TX is an RN and will be of great help in that area. My role will be more of a driver/babysitter type role for my 3-year-old grandson.

Those of you who follow this blog have seen his picture on the sidebar and in a couple of the posts. Our David is growing up quickly and we are excited about having a chance to spend more time with him.

Even Dad, who did not want to leave Michigan, is now on board with the move and looking forward to spending time with his great-grandson.

Along the way, we will stop in the St. Louis, MO (Illinois side) to visit my brother and his family and see his new home. Dad is excited about that as well.

Part of getting Dad on board the move has been focusing on the positives and not the negatives. At first he considered moving into a nursing home rather than going with me, but he eventually realized there wouldn't be anyone visiting him, he would be in a much smaller location with very few of his personal items with him, and that he would be much better off going to TX with me. Thank you, Lord!

As our trip progresses, I hope to stay in touch through this blog to let everyone know how we are doing, where we are at, and what sights we get to see.

I'm proud of Dad for being able to change gears this late in life. Although moving to an island off the coast of Texas is not his first choice for the rest of his life, he is gamely stepping up to the plate. What a guy!

If you have moved an elder across country recently, please let me know what worked or did not work for you. I would love to have you share your experience.

Family Update - All is Well

Apparently I haven't posted since Dad's traumatic header down a flight of stairs on August 8th. He and my daughter were attending a birthday party for a long-time friend of Dad's. The party was held in their church basement. As Dad and Deb were leaving, they climbed a flight of stairs and Deb told Dad to wait and she would grab their jackets. While he was waiting, he apparently became dizzy and took a dive down about eight steps, face forward and head down, coming to a stop on the landing.

To make a long story much shorter, he spent three days in ICU and ten days at a rehab center. He has had home health care since that time, mostly due to a large wound on his leg that is slow in healing. He is diabetic and healing this wound is a major consideration. Thankfully, the wound care people are taking good care of him.

David's Visit

The second major event this fall was the visit by my other daughter, Barb, and her son David. You will see his picture in the previous post. They stayed for approximately two weeks, and were missed before they even left the driveway. Texas is a long way from Michigan, and we have no idea when we will see them again. Thank God for cell phones with the ability to send pictures and short videos. We are able to keep up to date on David's growth and his activities.

Dad's 87th Birthday
The third event this fall was Dad's birthday on October 18th. He turned eight-seven-years-old (87). What a milestone. His sister turned 92 on the same dad. We didn't do anything really special, just had a quiet day of football and special dinner, but he did receive numerous birthday cards and phone calls throughout the weekend.

If you haven't had the chance as yet, stop over at the Elder Care Cafe.net and check out what is happening. We are up to 266 posts at this time and still going strong. Lot's of changes there recently in the look of the site, but the same intent - to support caregivers and the elderly - is still of utmost priority. We celebrated our 1st birthday in early August. We had a birthday cake, balloons, and of course Beyer's sugar free pecan ice cream.

Just a quick update. Hope you get a chance to visit us somewhere on the web. We are still here although we don't post as often anymore.

Let us know what is going on in your life. We would love to hear from you and how you are doing with your care giving. Take care and hope to hear from you soon.

September Will Bring a Family Visitor to Our Home

We are all atwitter here since we learned our grandson/great-grandson will visit us in September. Now two-years-and-four-months-old, David is growing fast. We have received quite a number of photos via cell phone, well over a hundred at last count.

About twenty short videos also allow us to watch him as he grows. He is becoming quite a young boy.

Long distant grand parenting is difficult when we see such wonderful changes taking place. I would love to be with him in person, but I am thankful that modern technology allows us to stay in touch pretty much in real time.

I have a picture that I framed of David and his Dad soon after they left a local restaurant one evening. The cool thing about the picture is that while they were in the restaurant I received two videos showing David and his family while they were eating.

Now when I look at the picture, I can remember, or watch once again, how he behaved while eating. Almost like being there in real time.

We haven't yet tried Skype, although I think being able to see and talk to him via that type of resource would be a great addition to our photo and video arsenal to keep Grandma and David in touch with one another.

I know that I am where I am supposed to be as far as caregiver to my father, but I certainly miss the physical closeness, i.e. hugs and kisses, I could have with my grandson. Thankfully modern technology helps us stay in touch.

Text and Pix Messages - A Wonderful Thing

This picture is David and his mom fishing from the pier in Port Aransas, TX

Dad and I have received numerous text messages, pictures, and videos from my Texas-based daughter. The good news is that we are receiving numerous pictures of my grandson as he grows. We don't have to wait for pictures to be developed, sent by snail mail, or even wait for belated trips to the post office.

I love hearing that little "ding" letting me know there is a new picture available. Now, if I can just get the pictures uploaded to my computer, that would be great. The videos are a riot, and we can see David in action. The funny thing is, he is either sleeping or moving around in some manner. He loves to move rapidly forward and back when he is sitting in his highchair.

And the other day a picture arrived where he is sitting in the little antique chair Dad and I sent at Christmas time. The funny thing is, he was sticking his tongue out at us when the picture was taken. Now, I wonder who put him up to that?

Anyway, I hope you have the capability to send and receive instant messages to long-distant family members. I know it has really enhanced our lives!

Keep those pix and text coming, kids - we love them all!

Before You Go...

While you are visiting Elder Care Cafe, take a look at the pictures on the sidebar.

This blog was started as a journal to share the story of my Dad and my care giving/receiving journey, and to share information and experiences with other caregivers. The more formal extension of this blog is at ElderCareCafe.net.

I joined Dad on September 7, 2006 so that he could continue to live in the house he had shared with my mother since 1970.

New Year's week, 2007/2008, my daughter and her family came to visit. During their ten day stay, we had the opportunity to bond with my new grandson, Dad's great-grandson. The two pictures on the sidebar were taken during their stay.

David Lloyd was 21-months-old at the time. We miss him dearly, and enjoy the calls and pictures we have received since that time. He is growing up very quickly; he will be two-years-old on March 27. Hopefully, he will visit us again while we are still here. In the meantime, we will watch for further snail mail, email, and cell phone pix!

Do you have a special person in your life who lights up your day? If they live far away, I hope you have plenty of pictures to enjoy.