Just a thought… Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness. [Desmond Tutu]
Welcome in – and I’m happy to share, at last, a bit of good news.
No, our house hasn’t sold; we’re still living straddled between two places, although we have vacated the house while leaving it (mostly) furnished so that it appears lived-in. The St. Joseph statue planted in the garden and even the little feng shui golden frog gifted to me from my podcast partner and pal Lisa haven’t yet done their magic, but again, our fingers are crossed. It’ll take more than talismans (talismen?) to sell our place; we expect, as it was in our case, it’ll be the right people walking in and falling in love.
The good news comes in the form of a new home for our father, who spent over a month in a hospital bed awaiting any port in a storm. We finally got word two weeks ago from Interior Health here in BC that they’d found him a bed in a four-man room at a local care home in Kelowna.
He seems to be adjusting to the way they run things, albeit with uncharacteristic (dementia-sparked) cantankerousness: Dad refused to get out of bed the other day when they were rousing the other residents. He’s gotten used to sleeping in until 10 am and, once the folks at the home discussed his preferences with sister Leslie, things were ironed out. They really seem to care and now Dad sleeps as long as he wants, as often as he wants.
Kind of like the way I’m living right now, if I’m honest.
We’re grateful that we’ve found a place for Dad to be cared for. His needs became too much for Leslie to handle, plus (like us) she’s changing her living arrangements and they wouldn’t have accommodated Dad’s growing care requirements. We’re also thankful that the home is near to sister Heather’s place. Her husband drops by regularly with treats and Dad’s feeling anything but neglected.
I want to share with you a small personal milestone that was marked on the weekend: I collected a five-year coin for sobriety. There was the customary cake, as those who also celebrated – whether two months or 44 years (all accumulated just one day at a time) – told their stories and enjoyed the fellowship of a lot of good people.
Rob presented me with my chip and told everyone how proud of me he is for staying sober during the hardships of the past six months. It hasn’t occurred to me to self-medicate, even in the depths of depression. I’m just so lucky to have my partner urging me on, giving me strength and being just so very tolerant and understanding. In a time when it’s so easy to slide into a bad case of the summertime blues, (for which renowned rock ‘n’ roll philosopher Eddie Cochrane reminded us there is no cure LOL) I count my blessings. And no doubt, Robbie is at the top of that list.
Have an easy week and I’ll have a new Drift with Erin Davis sleep story for you tomorrow, plus of course we’ll be back Thursday with Episode 81 of Gracefully & Frankly with Lisa Brandt. We have some fun news to share with you then – don’t miss it and a chance to get a neat little gift just for listening and sharing us with your besties.