Smiling

I am tired and sore but the move has been done and my mom is in her new apartment.  We still have lots of unpacking to do and I am lucky to have such a great sister in law and brother.  I spent the day yesterday directing the movers as to what had to go and where it had to be put.  Who knew two bedrooms would require 3.5 hours of professional movers?  The great thing is the new apartment is laid out exactly as her old one was, but is much closer to the center hub of action.  She had been located on the end of a long hallway of a wing and with her walking ability diminishing she is now close to everything.  That is one perk!  The other wonderful thing is her view, her old apt. had a view of the garage and parking lot and lot's of highway noise, this one is the serenity of a garden and trees and wildlife.  I put her kitchen table right by the window so she can have her coffee or breakfast and look out the window.  Very rarely does my mom ever state she is happy about something.  It makes me feel so good to hear her repeatedly saying " This is so wonderful, this is really like a nice apartment, I never really thought of the old place like that"  It makes me so happy to know that she is accepting this move as a positive and wonderful thing... I believe she is truly happy and I agree it is much more pleasing to be in this place than the old one.  It just seems brighter and more comforting than her old place.  My mom was always on a regiment, she did everything by the clock and maybe that is why I rarely do.  I am very spontaneous, prompt but spontaneous.  There is no structure in her life and we think maybe this is why she is doing "nothing".  Hopefully moving closer to the hub of events will encourage her to be more involved.  So many of us are dealing with aging parents and we can all relate.  Making these decisions are daunting, you want to do what is right and some seem so radical and heartbreaking.  We are also hiring a Granny Nanny to get her into some kind of schedule, a companion.  My mom falls for no apparent reason, she fell yesterday while we were chatting and just and I mean just missed a corner that would have cracked her head like a nut.  She is pretty good at falling and I think she could be a stunt person for old people, she hit her head but got up and walked back to her apartment, I choked back tears walking behind her.  This is so hard, I am so glad my dad died in his sleep, no warning , no suffering, we just had to deal with the loss...no watching his decline...just his loss.  I guess it doesn't get any easier with aging parents.  On a good note, after I left, Cheryl looked out mom's window and Doe and her fawn were eating in the garden.....this is a good thing.