Monday With Mom

Tom and I started the week off by visiting Mom. On the way there I kept praying to myself that Mom would be in a happy mood. When we got to the Big House, that's what Mom calls her place, I dropped off a sandwich that I made for Sherry. Sherry loves when I bring her surprise treats. She keeps telling me she feels like a Princess with me pampering her like I do.  I keep telling her I appreciate so much on how she takes care of Mom, and I know how mom can get in her moods. Sherry says she knows my Mom does not know what she is doing most of the time but she has a good loving heart. Sherry explains to me how Mom can ignore her.  I explained to Sherry not to take it so personal because she does the same thing to me and I am her daughter.

After seeing Sherry, Tom and I knocked on Mom's door and she opened it with a big smile. She said she was so glad to see us and that she was tired of having to answer the door to people that know her but she does not know them. I told Mom everyone knows her because she makes everyone feel good with her love, and kindness. She replied that she knew that already.

Tom got all her treats out, a sandwich, fruit salad, corn,  nuts with dried fruit and her favorite drink Coke. Mom got so excited when she saw the nuts and dried fruits. While she was eating her treats I went to look for her dirty clothes. Finding her dirty clothes can be hard to find, except when she puts her dirty underwear and sock back in the her dresser drawer. I told her I got her a bunch more socks, and underwear, and she explained to me that she did not need any underwear. The problem is she does need her underwear because something is happening to them.

 Yes... she is drinking her favorite drink.. COKE!

 She loves when I make a mix of nuts and dried fruit. I think it's an Armenian thing.

She is smiling at the container of nuts and dried fruit. She is just like a little child looking at such a delicious treat just for her.

She loved her sandwich that I made for her. I made it just like she likes it. She was surprised that I made it. I don't think she remembers how I love to cook because of her.

 She told Tom how much she is enjoying her COKE.  She loves her COKE.... she kept saying to him.

She keeps asking Tom about the air-conditioner. She wonders why she can't use the television remote to turn the air-condition on and off.

Now she says we have to talk slowly explaining how to turn on and off the television using the remote. She usually pulls all the wires out to shut the television when she is finished watching it.

 See the red button.... on and off. I drew her a picture trying to explain how to use the remote. She kept asking Tom how to turn on and off the television. Tom kept telling her just push the red button for on and push it again for off. I wrote it on a sheet of paper highlighting the red button. I taped it by the table.

 Here's her air-condition..... she either is too cold or too hot.  When Tom put the temperature up she said to lower it to make it warmer!  She then asked Tom how to turn the air-condition on. Mom explained the higher the number was in degrees the colder it got. She was a little confused. Tom then explained that if she needed to put the air on she should ask one of the aides to help her. Mom then replied she would not need to ask anyone because she was a teacher who taught one hundred years. The only solution was, since it wasn't that hot out was, leave it off!

 

She is saying to Tom that it looks like her daughter wants to take a photo of her , and then she looks right at me. Click... went my camera.

Here she is getting all mushy about her favorite man President Obama. Tom is showing photos of The President's dog, Bo, and The White House on his iPhone.  Mom asked how President Obama was doing. She told us how she is such great friends with him and his family. She also told Tom that at any time he wanted to visit him she would take him. She was very much interested in knowing everything about her favorite man.

We stayed several hours, and then we asked her if she wanted to go downstairs and chat with her friends, and she said no. We gave her some butterfly kisses and she walked us out in the hallway. I kept looking down the long hallway, and she was still waving and throwing me kisses. It made me so sad to have to leave her there. I know this is the best place for her to feel safe and to have some fun with her own peers. I just wish  she was Mom again going shopping with me,  having our great talks, and making Armenian Food. I miss those special times with her, and every time I go and visit her I wonder if she will remember who I am.

This photo makes me sad. Mom likes to say goodbye standing by her apartment door. I kept turning around to see if she was still standing there, and she is throwing me kisses and waving at us. This image makes me feel like my mom is going farther and farther from me.

Mom and Her New Curls!

Tom and I went to visited Mom and she was so happy to see us. Once again she did not have the air on, and it was very hot in her apartment. Tom quickly turned the air on, and Mom replied the weather inside her apartment was so cool, and it felt so good. We brought her fresh fruit, and her favorite cinnamon bagel with honey nut cream cheese. She could not wait to dive into her treats.

Mom had a new hairstyle today with lots of curls. I guess she had asked Martha for the new look. The first thing she said to me was how cute she looked.  I told her the curls were cute on her, but I knew it would not last by tomorrow.

Here's Mom's new curly look.  She kept telling us how cute she looked.

She was showing me the side of her hair how the curls even went there.

 Tom and I figured out why she likes the curly hair style.  We found this picture of her when she was a teenager and she still thinks of herself as a teenager. She was so cute back then, and still is now!

Mom and I walked over to give her friend Sherry a bagel and cream cheese.  I try and bring Sherry treats several times a week because Sherry helps Mom in so many ways. The last couple of days, Tom and I could not figure out where Mom had gotten a big bag of popcorn that was on her counter. Sherry told me today that she made the popcorn for Mom, and Mom brought the pops. They both went downstairs to watch a movie on the big television. Mom even remembered eating the popcorn and going downstairs to see a movie. I was so happy that Mom remembered and had fun that evening.

She loves her treats, especially if its fruit and a bagel.

I asked her what did she had for her supper today. She could not remember but she said it was delicious.

She loves her angels.... even will wear angel pins...

Mom loves her photos being taken. Every time I show a picture of her, she will reply to me that she sure looks like a dolly...... she sure does......

I collected all her dirty clothes in the closet and in her cabinet, but noticed she was missing a lot of her underwear and socks. I have no idea what is happening to them. I will have to go and get more underwear and socks on Saturday for her. I pray that she is not having accidents, and just throwing them away.

While Mom was eating her fruit and bagel we went through the photos that I had taken a couple of days ago, and continued telling her stories about each photo.  She loves to hear the different stories, and once again she will add to each story.
We said goodbye with hugs, and butterfly kisses. She told Tom and I she wanted to walk to the elevator with us. I asked her if she will  know how to get back and she said her angels that are by her door will help her. My mom loves her angels and she always believed in angels even when I was little . Angels are all around us.... we need to take the time to feel their warmth.

Here she is walking with us to the elevator. She was smiling while she walked the long hallway.  She knew she could do it without any problems.  I was so proud of her.

Here she is walking back to her apartment looking for her angels.

We went downstairs to the main area where everyone hangs out. I said hello to everyone, but this time no one said hello. Before I opened the door to leave I had to figure out why no one said hello.  All the other days when I walked by them they would always say hello and would ask me where Lucy was.  I decided to try and listen to what they were all taking about,  and they all had such serious faces on except one man who just kept snoring. I guess the man in the wheel chair said he was leaving tonight because someone has been stealing from him.  Several others were expressing the same thing, but the problem I was having, no one said what was stolen from them.  I guess they all wanted to be dealing with the same issue as the man in the wheel chair was. They all wanted to be part of some excitement. To tell you the truth I really feel no one was stealing from any of them.  Thank  goodness my mom was not down there.  She would have added to the conversation and would have gotten very emotional. Her story would have been very creative, and she would have gotten everyone to call the police.

This is the man who started the conversation about the stealing. He does look like a tough guy, but I hear he is a real softie.

Here's the man that was not too interested about all the stealing,  he was doing more of the snoring.

Here they all were talking about all the stealing that is happening to each one of them. Even the Dot = Dot Ladies on the couch added their own stories about the stealing in their apartments. I left laughing to myself because half of these people can't  even hear what the other ones are talking about.

Father's Day with Mom and Doctor's Appointment Today with Dinner at Moro's

Father's Day turned out better than I thought with Mom.  She came in our house with a smile, and did not seem as confused as she can be. She mostly followed my brother around the house, and was his shadow for the day. I kept asking her if she wanted to fold the napkins, because Mom loves to fold things especially napkins. She replied that she was busy with Greg. We ate outside and then it seemed it was getting more difficult for her to figure out what any of the conversations were. I kept trying to get her into the conversation, but then it seemed as though she would get crabby with me because she felt I was getting all the attention. Mom loves when all eyes are on her, and everyone is talking only to her. The poor thing does not realize that our family feels she is our number one priority and we do want her to feel important all the time and happy. She ate well, and then we said goodbye and Greg took her back to the BIG HOUSE. She calls American House the  Big House, even though all of us think its funny when she always was a Michigan State Diva.

Mom is smiling because I told her how I liked her blouse and earrings. She loves the special attention.

Mom is trying to understand what our conversations are, yet we are including her in them.

Just finished Father's Day barbecue. Mom smiling into the camera. Loves her photos being taken. She always says after her photos have been taken of her, that she sure is a dolly.




Today, we picked her up to go to the doctor's for her six week check up. Dr. M. wanted to see how she was after moving in to American House, and to see if she was getting adjusted to her new environment. We saw her in the lobby area of the American House where everyone hangs out especially the ones that love to hang out with others. She was laughing and having so much fun with her new friends. We kept hearing her telling everyone over and over again, on how she was a teacher for a hundred years. I feel sorry for those same people who keep hearing her say the same thing over and over again. Two ladies, I call the "Dot Ladies", were sitting together on the couch as they always do. I call them the Dot Ladies because they are both named Dorothy. One is  old and the other one is 95. When one of the Dot's talk she always uses the word hell in her conversation. The Dot Ladies told Mom today that they already knew she was a teacher, and she does not have to tell them every time they see her. Mom replied that was great news and that she felt she did her job as a teacher and now they both know how important she is. Everyone laughed, including me.

The Dot Ladies, always sitting together.

In the photo above, they are playing kind of a game. Mom found this balloon on the floor and she hit it to the Dot Ladies. Everyone thought that was funny, and kept hitting it to each other. A simple balloon but it sure made the Oldies and Goodies all happy.

Jim wanted his photo taken with Mom. He seems to always appear when he sees my camera. 

I took several photos for her to look at while waiting for the Doctor, and told her stories about each photo, hoping that it would relax her. She loves my photos, and loves the stories that I tell for each photo.

When Mom's doctor came in to talk, she was very loud and anxious with him.  I explained to him at American House when she is in a large group she is like this and she is constantly wanting to help others. Several times she would get upset with me or the doctor because she felt we were talking to each other, and not to her.  Dr. M. kept telling her that we were including her in the conversation but she is not getting in the conversation. She then gave each of us a surprised look at that. Dr. M. wants to see her again in six weeks, to make sure her anxiety level goes down. He thinks its due to being in a new environment and she is just is a little nervous being among so many people. Good news was she still weighs 128 but her blood pressure was a little higher.

During dinner at Moro''s, you can see Mom is scratching her head.  She was confused what everyone is talking about. Poor thing.......she wants to feel so important all the time.

Everyone is talking to her, and she is loving it.

Moro's in Allen Park, her old hometown, is Mom's favorite place to eat. My brother, his sweet lady friend, Vinnie, Kristofer, Kathy, her husband, and my Tom and me, all met there for dinner. Kathy is in charge of American House where Mom lives. We thought we would invited her for dinner for all the nice things she has done for Mom. We had a great time, great food, nice people, and the most important part of the evening, Mom was happy, talking up a storm like she loves, and most importantly, she was eating. Boy... did she do a lot of laughing..... yes... all attention was on her.

Friday Afternoon with Mom...

Today after having coffee and a bagel in Plymouth with Tom we went to see Mom. When we got to her apartment everyone greeted us and told Tom and I she was getting her hair done. Yes...after her hair was all fixed up ..she did say she looks like a dolly. Tom and I then went upstairs to put her clean laundry away, and look for the dirty laundry. Tom noticed that her cable box was unplugged again. We figured she keeps doing this is because she can't remember how to turn off the television.

Soon we heard her open the door to her apartment, and she was so happy to see us both.  She kept asking how long we had been here, and we kept telling her not long. Tom put some sliced fruit , ice tea, and cinnamon bagel with honey cream cheese for her to nibble on, on her table. She enjoyed everything and kept asking us what was this and that she was eating. In Armenian she said how delicious the food was. I brought some photos I had taken in the beginning of the week and to tell her stories that went with the photos. This time for her is getting better each time because now Mom adds to each photo with her own version of the story.

Next, she had to show us about the photo of President Obama and his family that she had taped on her closet door. Mom is so proud of this photo, and she loves our president so much. She keeps talking to everyone about him, and says she hopes he will continue to be our president. I keep telling her she needs not to talk about him, because some people are not in favor of having him for president. She would reply that she did not care, and that he was going to be president.

A couple of days ago my brother brought a friend over to introduce Mom to her. Her name is Rachelle, and what a sweet gal. Since Mom had met her, her imagination is going all over the place. First, they are going to be married, she has eighteen family members, and they are all Italians. Mom wanted to know if we met all eighteen of the family members, and when I told her no Mom was so happy. Mom likes to be the only one that has met the people or talked to them. This conversation went on and on, that Tom wanted a beer. The problem with that was, there was not any beer at Mom's place.


We decided to take her out of her apartment so she could stop talking about Italians, and Greg's friend. I thought we would take her to the second floor to watch the Oldies and Goodies play Bingo. Well.. that was a bad idea, because when we opened the doors to go in, Mom decided to talk real loudly. I kept telling her she has to use her quiet voice...and then it  went down hill from that moment.  It took awhile for her to leave there and go downstairs to the main area.When we got to the main area, everyone was sitting there complaining how cold it was, and quickly I went to get Mom's sweater.

Today, American House  was going to have a barbecue for all the Father's for Father's Day. We decided not to go because I really feel as though Mom needs to enjoy being with her own peers, and for her not to think I am taking her friends away from her. Mom kept hearing that they were cold and kept trying to take her sweater off to give to them, even though she was cold herself. Mom loves helping others, and will do anything to help others. Mom loves telling everyone about her being a teacher, and how she knows a lot because of  it. I know many people are getting tired of hearing this from her day in and day out.  Most people like Mom because she will says funny things, and they all know she cares about each one of them. Mom knows one lady has problems sitting, so Tom and I noticed how she got up and helped her.

Several Men there today were wearing red , white and blue ribbons with flashy metals hanging from the ribbons. Most of these men were Veteran's and they have not take these proud metals that American House gave to them each on Veterans Day. Every Veteran is still wearing these necklaces so proudly.

Mom loves to kiss everyone, even the men. One man in this photo loved it, and each time Mom gave him a kiss on his cheek, he would ask for another one. I was always one minute late to get a photo of that kiss on the cheek. I told Mom that Casper wants another kiss on the cheek and she would reply that she does not kiss men. Mom is a lovable lady, but one day someone may not want a kiss on the cheek and then her heart will be broken.

 Sherry is playing with Casper by making him have horns. Poor man does not even realize he has horns.

Mom just gave Casper a kiss on his cheek. He told her that he loves those kisses. I know for a fact Mom can't hear what he said, because she would be so upset with him.

 Here is Casper again..love his smile. Such a toothless smile...

Mom just helped her friend to sit down on the chair. The lady was so grateful and Mom told her she will help her in anyway she needs help.

Mom always holds her friends hands. I think the reason she is holding on to her friend today was both of their hands were so cold.

 They both kept holding on to each others hands until they got up for the picnic.

This is the look on mom's face I worry about. It's the look that she is drifting off from us, and I am affraid some day she will not come back.

This photo Mom was telling everyone about Franco and his wonderful boys. How she has known them for hundreds of years. She even taught each one of them.

Franco is smiling in this photo, because he hears the story from Mom over and over again about her teaching his sons. We all know it's not true, but no one will correct her. Let her enjoy her story, she is not bothering any one....right?

 Mom telling us her version of the stories from the photos that I took. Great stories she tells....

Here in this photo Mom is looking at every detail of each photo, and continues to ask Tom and I questions regarding each photo.

Getting ready for the picnic for Father's Day, and Flag day. This lady continues to read the paper and does not leave her eyes off the paper for anyone or anything.

 Here they are smiling at the camera. They both love their photos being taken.

 Mom showing me President's Family photo . She loves our president.

Mom telling us her stories about the photos, and asking tons of questions about my brothers friend Rachelle.

Mom nibbling, nibbling. We worry she does not eat, so we are constantly bringing her healthy treats.

 Some of the residents having fun playing Bingo. So serious they are....

Everyone is sitting with other people at a table, not this lady. She must be a very serious Bingo Lady. I hope today she wins a prize.

Well, it was getting time for the picnic, so Tom and I gave her a couple of butterfly kisses and said goodbye to Mom, and everyone else. It may have been a hot Friday outside, but it was a cool Friday inside where the Oldies and Goodies were dressed as thought the March Winds were blowing all around them. I know most of those people are old but they sure have warm hearts, and great stories to tell.