First Light

Since Mom has been in the hospital, I've been keeping my sister Joanne company at Mom's condo in Portland one or two nights a week. Since I tend to fall asleep on the living room couch, I have an amazing view of the sunrise over the harbor each morning.

 

As the easternmost state in the continental U.S., the sun comes up early in Maine, especially here along the coast.

"The nearer the dawn the darker the night."  

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Portland, Maine, 1807-1882)

Lobster boats have already begun heading out to sea...

While pleasure craft sit snugly at the dock, awaiting summer.
 

Did you notice that the sailboat in the middle has a light on in the galley? It, and a few other boats in the marina, have propane heaters and are lived in year round...Brrr!
 

The 6:15 ferry from Peak's Island arrives in Portland
 

As the sky lightens, another day begins.



"Not knowing when the dawn will come I open every door."

Emily Dickinson

Today Was a Gift

Mom was awake and able to sit up and talk today.

We all made the most of the chance to spend more time with her...
 

Kristen & Grammy:  Hand in Hand

Andi, Mom & Kristen



Grammy with Rob and Kristen Underwood



Mark & Joanne with Mom



The Whole Gang:  Cheryl, Robert, Andrea, Hank, Mark, Joanne, Kristen, & Mom

 

 

 

 

 

 







"Grammy" & Kristen say Goodbye

 

Each day together seems like a new miracle...

 



The 150 Project #2: OMG, I Have a Personal Trainer!

Welcome to the "150 Project"...
One of my "Retirement Resolutions" was to get healthy...hence the "150 Project". That's my goal weight on Weight Watchers. Putting that number right out there keeps me from going back into denial. I was also a smoker. I quit in June 2013,  on the day I retired from teaching. Now that I'm retired, I hope to add exercise to my program. Posting my progress on the "150 Project " is my way of keeping myself honest, tracking progress, and, just maybe, inspiring others because...if I can do it, anyone can!
~Cheryl

 

Since my Mom has been ill, it's ironic that physical exercise has been what has kept me from losing my mind  somewhat sane. If you knew me you would know why that is totally out of character:

  

 I absolutely hate  to sweat. 

 

John of "Body by John"...not scary at all!

 

But...desperate times call for desperate measures!

 



Having gained back almost 10 pounds since I quit smoking last June, I made a New Year's resolution to add exercise to my Weight Watchers program in 2014.
 

 I didn't really think I would keep it.

My first day at Body by John

Mom being admitted to the hospital on New Year's Eve seemed like just the excuse I was searching for to break my resolution...until the trainer called me! The gig was up...I was out of excuses. It was like an out-of-body experience when I heard someone with my voice agree to a "free assessment of my physical strength, flexibility and percentage of body fat". Moi???



My trainer, Ben

OMG!!! Did I really just agree to THAT? With a muscle-bound young male trainer? At a gym? In spandex? Just kill me now.



My trainer, Ben



But sometimes the unexpected happens. The gym is small and there are no spandex-clad 20 year olds there while I'm working out. My trainer, Ben, isn't scary at all...he's firm but very sweet. And I'm not only able to do what he asks of me, I'm enjoying it.



 

 

 Hey, I'm 66 years old and hanging out with guys like Ben and John...

 

And I'm doing things I never ever ever thought I could do...

like "Planking"...



 and "Inch Worms".

 

I've even learned to embrace the pain of "LEG DAY".
 

After two months of training four times a week, I can't believe that I've actually stayed with it.  Maybe my body has been taken over by an alien?  I love my time at Body by John and I'm no longer afraid to sweat a little. I feel more energetic and more confident. What I have always avoided has become a gift of additional strength...

Just when I need it most.

 

 

p.s. Thanks, Ben, John and Pam!

 

 

 

 

Some Things Just Can't Be Explained

According to Mom's doctor, things sometimes happen that medicine just can't explain.

 

After being told on Tuesday that our Mom had only days to live due to aspiration pneumonia, we got a call from the doctor early Thursday morning saying. "You may want to get in here...your Mom is wide awake and talking. She no longer shows any sign of pneumonia and her temperature is normal".

 

We all rushed over. Mom was indeed awake and alert, after days of high fever and non-responsiveness. The doctors said that we should just enjoy this gift of more time with our Mom, and we did. Joanne and Mark even brought Mom's cat, Tabby, in for a visit. (Mom calls Tabby her "pride and joy" and there is some light-hearted debate in the family about where the cat stands in Mom's affections in relation to her daughters.)



On Wednesday, Mom's condition had been so critical that my son, Rob, took the train to Maine from NYC, arrived at 1:30 a.m. and went to visit "Grammy" with me at 2:00 a.m. Thursday morning. Joanne and Mark were already there.  Six hours later, the fever had broken and Mom had spontaneously beaten the pneumonia...without antibiotics.



The doctor said that he is unable to explain Mom's recovery. He shared that this was only the second time in his medical career that he had seen anything like this happen in a patient in Mom's condition. He warned us to enjoy these moments and not get too hopeful, but it feels like a miracle to have this time with Mom.

And maybe it is...

On Thursday morning, my husband, Hank, took off the gold cross he has always worn and placed it on my Mom's neck.



She has been awake since.

 



  

This morning, Mom is sitting up in a wheelchair visiting. Her feeding tube has been restarted. Her left side is still weak and her speech is slurred but she is back with us for now. We're amazed and incredibly grateful.

 

 

Who knows?

"There are only two ways to live . . . one is as though nothing is
        a miracle. . . the other is as if everything is."
                                                                                            - Albert Einstein

 





Amazing Women: My Mom



Mom in 1st grade, Bradford, Massachusetts



Our Mom had a serious stroke right after the holidays and she, and our family, have been on a physical and emotional roller coaster ride since then. Mom is 92 and the stroke has affected her ability to move the left side of her body, to swallow, and to articulate her thoughts as clearly as she'd like. Luckily, the stroke left her cognitively intact.

I feel as if I have been away from this blog forever and miss both the creative outlet it provides and the friendships I have formed through blogging. I've written many posts in my head during the past six weeks but haven't had the emotional energy to put them into words.

Mom as a baby in Bradford, England

Over the past month I've come to learn a lot about my Mom that I overlooked when she was well and I took her presence in my life for granted. I learned what an incredibly strong woman she is and I'm humbled every day by her patience, positive attitude, and will to live.



Mom is a member of the Greatest Generation. Her young British parents, seeking a better life for her than the mills of Yorkshire had offered them, sailed with her to America when she was 3 years old. Mom was a child during the Depression and a young woman coming of age during WWII, when all of the men her age were overseas. 

Mom at Hampton Beach, N.H., 1943...age 22.





Uncle Arthur , Dad, Mom, Aunt Marion, Bradford, Mass., June 1946

After marrying our Dad in 1946, Mom was busy raising four daughters in the 50's, 60's and 70's.
(We definitely gave her a run for her money back then...)

Our family in 1967...Cheryl, Andrea, Joanne and Nancy with Mom & Dad

Mom was trained as an artist and continued to paint in oils when she found a free moment. She sewed all of our clothes at night after putting us to bed. She always had a passion for antiqueing, repurposing, and home decorating that she passed down to her daughters... and which continues to inspire the creativity in each of us to this day.

 

We saw Mom's strength when Dad, and then Nancy, got sick...

 

And I saw it when we I caught her "exercising" her stroke-weakened arms and legs as she lay all alone in her room at Maine Medical Center. When I asked what she was doing, she managed to tell me that she was "doing my exercises so that I can go home".  I just stood there and cried.

 

Mom on 91st Birthday at Texas Roadhouse...
She rode the bull!
 

Now I know how my sisters and I ended up to be such strong creative women.
It is because of the example Mom set for us.

So now, as I visit Mom each day, I whisper to her what I wish I had said to her more often over the years...

"Thank you, Mom...I love you."