Back Again

Sitting here today trying to think of what my blogs name even is.  I did not realize that I have not written on the blog in the past 11 months.  This year of 2012 has not been very kind to me and so many things have taken place since I posted my first blog.

My first post was done while I was in Florida taking care of my mother who had cancer of the bile duct and was not doing well from the radiation treatment.  I stayed the week with her until she was back on her feet and eating a little bit. 

While I was in Florida my husband called me on a Sunday morning to tell me that he just received a call from his cousin who was at church with his mom and that she was acting strange.  She was very confused and was telling strange stories that did not make sense.  He was asking me what to do.  My response was take her to the ER.  That was the beginning of my mother-in-laws illness of Alzheimer's.

When I returned home from Florida I was right in the middle of taking care of my mother-in-law and trying to figure out what the best care for her would be. At the moment her four sons and many grandchildren would stay with her 24/7 until we could get her medication established.   

A few weeks later I was walking on the track at lunch with one of my co-workers when she asked how my mom was doing.  I was so optimistic that this was just a hurdle to get over and that she should be feeling better soon. When I got back to my office after the walk I noticed I had a voicemail on my phone from my father.  I called him right away and he told me it was time to come back that my mom is doing worse and has decided against anymore treatments.  She was in the hospital but would be going home with Hospice.

Didn't take much on my part but I worked to get all things taken care of so that I could drive to Florida the next day.  I also had to call my 8 siblings to tell them what dad told me.  I am the nurse in the family so when it comes to illness I am usually right in the middle of it.  

The next morning I left home and packed lightly thinking she was going to be fine and that Dad was just upset.  When I walked into the house that night I knew I was wrong.  Mom looked worse than she did a month before and was very agitated and crying. Mom took care of all of her and Dad's finances and she wanted to be sure it was all in order because she could die tonight.  That was all it took for me, I walked out of the bedroom and lost it.  I had a good cry for about five minutes, wiped my eyes and walked back into that bedroom and stayed there at her side for the next 5 weeks as a cared for her along with my 3 sisters.  

Those weeks my mother had all sorts of visitors, 20 of her grandchildren came, all 9 of her children, nieces, nephews and her sister-in-law.  We had a wonderful time when she was awake, listening to stories of her childhood and her views on marriage.  She and my father had been married 61years that December.  

My mother died on February 26, 2012, the first Sunday of Lent, very quietly and with out any pain. By this time all the grandkids had gone back to school or work, all of my brothers and sister went back home to get things in order.  My youngest sister was the last one to leave the day before and it was while my dad had taken her to the airport that my mother and I last talked to each other.  The next morning the Hospice nurse came to me and said she was going and I woke my dad up and together we held her hands as she quietly slipped away.  Needless to say my world shattered that day but I was so numb I did not even know it. I stayed in Florida for the next week with dad to make sure that he would be alright after we all left.  

The next several months were hard.  It all began sinking in that my mom was gone.  My mother-in-law was put in the nursing home and not doing well.  It was so hard for me to visit her.  I would go to the nursing home and sit in the parking lot and could not get out of my car.  I lost my mom and I was not ready to loose my other mom.  In July my mother-in-law lost her battle and was laid to rest in the family cemetery.

My heart was breaking for the loss of two wonderful women who meant a great deal to me but it was also breaking for my three children who lost both their grandmothers in a span of five months.  My mother-in-law was everything to them since she lived down the street from us and was a big part of their lives from day one.  

So as you see I am really just getting back into the swing of things and have begun living again.  My three children are all grown, even though two still live at home, and I have time for me that I have not had in a long time.

I have been taking advantage of my time and now I have so much I want to do I can't settle on any one craft.  I have been scrap booking, quilting, making  cards, sewing dresses, making baby outfits and now making Christmas wreaths.  I am back and hope I can keep this blog up with all my new projects.

How to get started

I am sitting in Florida with my Mom, a very crafty lady to me, and really getting the itch to get back home to work on some of my own crafts.  As I watch my mom grow old but still have the gumption to create I know that is me.  My children are grown and I am not needed to chauffeur them around any more, therefor I have the time I have always wanted to spend all my free time crafting and sewing and now it looks like that time may have arrived.

I started fixing up my bonus room to do crafts in.  After the hubby put the 8ft table up there and I set all my scrapping materials up and got them organized he decided that he needs that table back and will give me another one.  So I take all my materials and set them on the floor on the other side of the room awaiting the arrival of a new table.  So the new table was not 8 ft long and I had to do some major rearranging of materials to make it work.  Needless to say the queen size bed in the room has become a storage space for me.  The ironing board holds all the fabric I have bought for my new projects.

All in all having fun working with all this and trying to organize.