Grandma H's First Week With Us

We are finally home! Arrived last Wednesday evening to be exact. And let me tell you, for me to say “home sweet home” is an understatement. While waiting for Mom (aka Grandma H) to get better, I literally lived out of a suitcase for almost a month. Furthermore, I slept on a hospital cot for about two and a half weeks. Needless to say, I am thrilled that all of the unpleasant events are in the past!

Now, there’s a new adventure in the mix. My family size increased by one. We are happy that Grandma H is here with us. But we’re also still trying to figure out what her likes and dislikes are. It’s been difficult because her speech is still impaired and her brain is still healing.

In a nutshell, here’s what our new adventure has been like since Grandma H has been with us:

Wednesday, January 1^st~ Got home late, had a quick meal and tried to get everyone ready for bed. My husband brought a bed-set downstairs to the living room for Grandma H so she could have something soft and comfortable to sleep in. Well, neither she nor I got any sleep the entire night. She refused to lie down and sat there in bed until she dozed off. When awakened, she yelled for assistance to the bathroom. A majority of the time, she really didn’t need to go; she just sat there. When back in bed, she didn’t sleep. Just sat there and yelled every hour or so. I’m surprised there weren’t any cops at our door during the wee hours of the night from all that yelling and screaming.

Thursday, January 2^nd~ Around 8 a.m. I went downstairs and found Grandma H sitting on the floor near the kitchen. Somehow she had manage to utilize her good side (left arm and leg) to get off the bed and maneuvered her way to the kitchen. When I asked what she was doing out of bed, her response—“I was hungry.” Immediately I checked to see if she was injured or sustained any broken body parts. She said she wasn’t hurt from the event. Thank goodness!

During the day Grandma H took catnaps. However, at night she would stay up entire yelling and screaming. Frequent trips to the bathroom were pretty much similar to the first night (January 1^st); she just sat there.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday were almost identical to the events that took place on January 2^nd.  Even with an over-the-counter sleep aid pill, Grandma H refused to rest. It’s like she's immune to the sleeping pill. It was obvious that by the end of the week I was feeling pretty much like a walking zombie. I’m so glad that my husband was able to pick up the pieces, such as made dinner and cared for M (our daughter). On a side note, I did try to squeeze in some speech therapy by helping her identify kitchen items, such as cup, spoon, fork, ect. Grandma H tried her best to pronounce them correctly. However, we have a long way to go.

As some of you may already know, taking care of an elderly (and physically disabled) family member is HARD WORK! Especially when you’re not sure what they want, and they themselves don’t really know what they want. So, at this point, I’m just trying to figure out what makes Grandma H comfortable and for her to sleep thru the night. We love her and want to see her happy. In addition, we'd like to see Grandma H get back to her normal self again. That's our ultimate goal.

Thankfulness Through a Child's Eyes

This past Sunday was my daughter’s turn to give a talk during our church's Primary program. She was excited and pretty much wrote the talk all by herself. All I did was help her find a passage in the scripture that coincides with the chosen topic and then typed it up so it would be legible enough to read.

When I told my daughter she could choose any topic for her talk (per the message that I received from the Primary secretary), she knew immediately what she wanted to speak about.

These are copies of my daughter’s talk, written on three separate pieces of paper. As you can see, she used a couple different writing tools; a pen and a marker. The talk started out with a scriptural reference, which says, "Doctrine and Covenants 136:28-- 'If thou art merry, praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving.'  

 

Then it continued with, "Thanksgiving is a special day when all my family is here to celebrate and to play but when it is time to share [what I'm thankful for] all that I am thankful for is God and Jesus and my family, and friends. Thanksgiving is when families get together. We are thankful for food and water, books, a bed, the temple and church."

Even though my daughter called for me to stand beside her at the podium, she did great on her own. I guess all she needed was moral support. And I was more than happy to be there.

It didn't dawn on me until later in the day that the list of things my daughter was thankful for, were what most people would consider the essentials; family, friends, food, a bed, church, etc.

To me, this is a testimony that young children can understand what is truly important in life. They can learn that we don't need material things to be happy. Family, friends, food, and the gospel are what's important and the source of true happiness.

For the record, my daughter is not at all deprived. She has a room full of toys and a closet full of clothes. But the fact that she chose to list only what matters most to her, was what touched my heart so deeply.