Chez Rozarie

So much to talk about, as we leave this year behind...my parents will be with us for the foreseeable future, which is a big change.  We always depended upon the freedom of the New Year, as they left for sunshine and warmth.  Because of the significant changes with Mom, and Dad's real inability to deal with them, they won't be going south.  Dad thinks they may be able to "just go for a week or two" sometime in the spring.  I think, though, he doesn't really anticipate he can handle Mom.  So we'll see how that goes. Christmas was a good day for most of the day.  Mom was pretty lost by the end of the day.  She really tried to keep it going, but with all the little ones, and big ones, she was done by about 7.  One of her gifts - probably her favorite gift - was a Groucho Marx set of glasses, with the 'stache and all.  There was even a wind up thingy that made the 'stache and eyebrows move!  Miah sure knows how to get her going - he also go...

Some of us know the joy of going along on one of the many doctor appointments the old folks seem to have.  They have a "regular doctor", a skin doctor, a back doctor, a bone doctor, an eye doctor, an eye surgeon.  Some have a lung doctor, a kidney doctor, or a cancer doctor...oh yeah, and the male parts doctor...I don't hear about the female parts doctor in my house.   Seems like that has been forgotten these days (probably in more ways than one...). Mom has an "old people doctor" - a gerontologist.  She used to go to Yale's Geriatric Clinic when first diagnosed, however the folks there weren't really personable enough for my Dad, and never returned his calls.  They also put in writing that Mom could no longer drive.  Dad has a phobia of bridges, so when going back and forth between CT and FL, he had Mom drive for stretches that included bridges.  When my sister and I found out about that, well, we asked the Nurse Practitioner about it and she put th...

There's a children's book, called "Shopping with Mom".  I forget who the author is, but I know my kids loved it, and so did my niece and nephew. Some of you may have seen some great pictures of Mom yesterday.  She was totally on.  With this "Heimers" thing (thanks, Beth, for the term!), you never know what the new day will bring. Dad "asked" me Sunday night if I would hang with Mom on Monday because he had a doctor appointment in the morning.  Sure, I figured we'd go to Joe's for breakfast, then head to Milford to get my Christmas ornament making supplies.  Monday morning, it's already after 8:30 and Dad isn't up for his appointment yet...lo and behold, he canceled it, but never told me.  He figures he can live with his shoulder "issue".  Then he suggested we all go to breakfast together (like I didn't see that coming!). "No problem", I told him, "but you drive your own car since you have to be b...

I've had the opportunity to do some serious observation work the past weeks.  Those of you who know me know I really love people watching.  People watching usually, however, involves people I don't know.  In this case, the subjects have been, yes, you guessed it - the Old Folks! This is probably going to sound random, but I promise I will tie it up nicely in the end. Dad is now driving, so I don't have to play chauffeur anymore.  Now I just have to worry about the other people on the road while he's out there.  Jeremiah took him on the road last week, to "test him" and be sure he was good to go.  He gave Dad the green light.  That means that Dad can now go to the grocery store.  Dad, remember, is a Depression-era baby.  If there aren't 6 cans of potatoes (yes, that's what he likes for homefries), there aren't any so he MUST buy more.  Same goes for cinnamon raisin bread, bagels, bananas. He MUST have several back ups. Knowing Dad c...