I am back from my vacation! It didn’t end up looking quite how I thought it would. I thought that I would spend my time walking and doing my wood refinishing projects, like I have done over the past few years. But that was not how it happened!
It started out well with my sibling and their family coming to stay for a week. They actually came part way through my last week of work. Then we had the planned family gathering. It is a lot easier for them to see our extended family if everyone comes to my place for the afternoon and supper. Just about everyone was able to come! My brother drove my parents up from Kitchener and we had a great time watching my grandkids run and play in the yard! That Sunday night they took me out to supper and we went to the Music in the Park in Goderich. A great way to start my vacation! The next day I settled in for an evening of board games with my niece and nephew. That’s when everything went sideways.
My Dad called and my Mom wasn’t doing very well so he was calling an ambulance and could I please come? I dropped everything, packed my bag for a few days, and ran off, leaving my house guests to fend for themselves. But before I got out of the door, my sister-in-law, Jen, said something that changed the rest of the holiday. She asked if I had packed my hand project, something small and portable to work on in the hospital. I grabbed my sock project, and a couple of extra balls of yarn and was on my way.
My Mom has dementia, and it turned out she also had pneumonia. That combination can cause delusions, which it did in her case. We stayed with her in emergency all night trying to keep her calm, but she didn’t recognize either of us. She improved fairly quickly after they got her on antibiotics and knew us again, but she was in hospital for about ten days. She’s had a lot of support from physio and occupational therapists as well as a PSW and is now doing well.
I had to come back home before she was released because I had prescriptions to pick up and I was getting rather tired and wanting my own bed again. It was a good thing I left, because I had contracted viral pink eye from my grandkids. I did not pass it to my parents but I was not even able to walk for a few days because, as a virus, it affected my breathing as well as my eyes.
But that chance comment of my sister-in-law got me working on socks. I finished the pair I had on my needles, and another pair for me as well. Then I got the counted cross -stitch for my granddaughter done, and am now starting the cross-stitch project for the twins. I am also knitting little socks for all five of the grandchildren. I didn’t get any of my refinishing done, but I have accomplished other things!
Sometimes we get so focussed on what we think should happen that we forget to notice what we actually do accomplish. As a friend said, we did get a lot of family time this summer! We need to thank God for what God does send us in our lives!
