Last Night I Wished I Were in the Mood for Whiskey....
Last night by the time I got home and poured my children into bed, pretty much unfed.....I really wished I were in the mood for whiskey. Fortunately or unfortunately I was not. It just seemed that perhaps I could have wiped the evening out from my memory....no such luck. Not that it was horrific just one I'd just as soon not have had.
The afternoon had started out o.k. Normally Ernie picks the boys up from school but Leo was very firm that I could NOT do that as "don't you know you shouldn't leave Owen alone?" My sweet little curmudgeonly big brother. Owen seemed to be feeling a bit better as well. Then I got a call from my mother that she was probably going to come home---but not sure when and they also had to set her up with oxygen at home. Bad daughter that I am I had hoped she'd stay in the hospital a little longer as I didn't know how I'd work middle of the night phone calls without someone to stay with the boys. But of course it's good for her to go home....well I GUESS. Even though she's scared to go home----oh, and she's mad at me about the whole Carle caseworker/nursing home incident...that came out last night as well.
Trying to get information from my mother was a bit of a challenge.....four and a half days in the hospital has left her muddled---not confused per se---but muddled. I know that's common and tried to be patient but it upsets her and makes her cranky when I question her so..... Anyway....I had hoped to leave the boys home and go over, pick her up and get her settled at home. I didn't want to leave them when it was dark though and as the afternoon wore on I figured that I would just take them with me. I really didn't want to take a sick Owen in however and I won't even go into the parking hassles given that the main garage is closed....so I told her that I would be out front when she was ready. Her homecare worker was there with her dealing with the discharge stuff so I figured that was o.k. But Sarah had to leave before my mother could pee after having the catheter out so then my mother seemed upset that I wasn't going to come in and couldn't figure out how she would get dressed and downstairs. I pointed out that the nurses or whoever would do that---they wouldn't just kick her out in the hall. That made her cranky. Come on everybody....compromises o.k?
ANYway.....they told me when to get there and we did and ended up sitting in the car for almost an hour....I don't think getting information from Mom was the most effective thing at that point.....hindsight, hindsight, hindsight. An hour of boys going back and forth between "I don't feel good" and bouncing off the walls.... We finally got her home and then there was a somewhat comical episode of trying to get her out of the Honda, into her wheelchair, up the ramp and into her house with Owen and Leo sharing duty on pushing the canister of oxygen which she had on a four foot tether. Oh, and this was in the dark and the rain as well. I KNOW there was comedy in there somewhere....
I don't even have the energy to explain the mishap with the oxygen getting there, having to go back to the hospital to get medication that had been left behind, crying on a nurse in frustration, telling a Carle Medical Supply guy in Danville that I wasn't happy with the response I'd gotten and him telling me that he wasn't happy with me.....ohhhhhhhhh I just won't go into it.
Oxygen got there a bit before 9:00. Nice guy....long (but necessary) explanation of how it all works. The boys were really tired by this point but Owen worked hard to keep Grandma cheerful, chatting to her and taking care of her. As he whispered to me at one point, "I think she's worried." Leo, as always, was quieter in his devotion, but an angel about doing everything I asked---find Grandma's cat, open the door, shut the door, get the blanket for Grandma, etc. They are good boys.....I was quite proud of them.
We left about 10:00....I offered to get my mother into bed but she didn't want to yet. It was only 10:00 so I'm not quite sure why we were all SO exhausted (well except Owen of course) but we were. I was so tired I felt as though I were driving in a daze....not good I suppose..... The boys cheered as I turned onto our street. They immediately rolled into bed and didn't move.
This morning....we way overslept. Geesh. I'm spoiled by having Ernie the alarm clock. Owen was still snuffling and pathetic so I knew he wasn't going to school---which means I'm not going to work which doesn't mean good things for me at work but WHAT CAN YOU DO? Leo looked panicked at the idea of being late....he hadn't really eaten dinner last night and needed breakfast----and only had school til 11:00 this morning.....so I looked at them and announced that we were all staying home. Go ahead.....give me the failed mother of the year award..... Right now the boys just finished instructing me in how to make the cinnamon rolls from the little tube----I don't think they thought I'd ever heard of such a thing.
Oh.....and we made it through the night without a call from my mother. I had the house phone and cell phone sitting by the bed expecting a call but none so far....
Hopefully this will be a day of recovery for all.