I’m going to go out on a limb here and say no other blogger is sharing Christmas decor in January. 😉
I mean, all the cool kids (and by kids I mean grown women in their 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and older) regaled you with their perfectly appointed Christmas homes way back in November and early December.
And now all the cool kids (aka, grown women) are in full New Year, New You swing.
Because all I’m seeing in my email inbox are blogger stories reflecting back on 2019 with “best of’s” and “favorite projects,” and stories looking forward to 2020 that include books to be read and healthy foods to be consumed and exercise routines to be followed and homes to be organized.
I’ve got none of that!
I guess you should count me among the nerds. Or the socially awkward.
But, then again, all those other bloggers didn’t have a turn of events in December that sent their aging father to the hospital, and then rehab. And left their aging mother in a state of confused panic.
And melodrama. Lots and lots of melodrama. 😉
And stress. Lots and lots of stress!
So I find myself in Florida at the start of the New Year. Away from my children and husband as I help (hopefully) my parents cope with their new reality.
Whatever that may be.
It’s a long and uncertain road as we all try to work together to figure out if they can still live independently.
And when I say “we all work together” I mean my sister, brother and I are getting a lot of push back from two very stubborn, aging parents who greatly overestimate how healthy they are and downplay their limitations! 😉
Before I departed on this fateful trip to Florida, I took a few pictures of my Christmas living room.
I debated if I should even share …
or just tuck them away into my photo archives, never to be seen on the blog.
But …
energy was expended.
Work was put into the photo shoot. Things were moved around. Surfaces dusted. Floors swept and vacuumed. Time devoted to taking pictures. And downloading pictures. And reviewing those pictures. And picking favorites. And editing and re-editing and editing again those favorites.
So in the end, I decided to be daring ….
and dare to share Christmas in January!
I’m going with I’m waaaaaaaaaaaaay ahead of the curve by sharing Christmas at the start of 2020 …
versus the end.
Who knows. Maybe this makes me the coolest of the cool kids now? Says the socially awkward grown woman.
🙂
As a socially awkward woman I embrace your reality. It is understandable you are feeling a deep sense of loss, not a loss of your parents, but having a mirror in front of you that makes you realize, this will be me someday. No one prepares us for THIS. But as you handle the daily servings of your present, do it with the same patience, dignity and thought as you have tackled all things in your past. Take time to enjoy your parents while they are still here. You will miss them so much when they are gone. And your simplicity in taste and decor just warms me to the core. YOU will get through this because you are YOU. The lady who can handle anything with heart and a stroke of wit!
Thank you so much for that reminder! Greatly needed at this point because, honestly, I’ve been sending texts to my kids and husband asking if they will visit me in jail if I murder my mom! (I mean that in jest; but she’s proven to be a huge challenge through all of this!). But I will step back. Take a deep breath. And take each new day as it comes!
And you are so right about that mirror. Seriously! Since I’ve been here I’ve been getting up at 5:30/6:00 AM each morning and hitting the gym. Hard! It’s been months and months since I’ve worked out. Nothing like beholding my future to get me into eating healthy and exercising regularly! 🙂
Everything looks lovely! What you are experiencing is real life. Are you the cool blogger? Absolutely! 😉
Thank you, my friend! 🙂
I love what Samantha said it is the truth. I would give your mom a scenario of what might happen if they were to live alone. It’s a bit of tuff love but it’s also reality, which can be harsh but also caring. I pray that all will go smoothly and with everyone’s best interest.
Thank you! Unfortunately mom’s memory is going so the tuff love scenario has turned into Groundhog Day!
Linda – as someone who has gone through this with a very stubborn mother (yes, murder finds its way to the table as an option), I have no doubt that you will survive this due to your healthy attitude and, most importantly, your sense of humor. And, although rather unimportant at this point in your drama-filled life right now, your Christmas-y living room is lovely – even in January.
Thank you! And glad I’m not alone in the contemplating murder thing. LOL! I keep texting my siblings each evening that mom gets to live another day! And thank you for your lovely words of support … and for my living room! 🙂
Hang in there. Going through similar situation with my folks as my father, pushing 80, had life-altering surgery and they will not accept a need to downsize their large two story home and large propert. Just barely made it through a modified holiday season (including Thanksgiving). All this with one son living far away in college, my own surgery during this time, and financial difficulties. Debating whether to send very late Christmas cards. Thanks for posting. Sometimes, life moves quickly, but it’s good to try!
So sorry! Sounds incredibly stressful!!! Our parents are so incredible hard-headed and willful!!! I think it may be payback for the grief we gave them as teens. Ha! My sister sends Happy New Year cards instead of Christmas cards. Just an idea! 🙂
I feel your pain. This is such a stressful, frustrating stage to go through with parents (and sometimes siblings). My mother is almost 96, I’m #5 of 6 kids whose ages have an 18 year spread, and wonder when it is that we cross the line from acqui​esc​ing with my mother’s wishes into neglect. Two of my siblings are in denial as to my mother’s physical and mental condition. Three siblings live close, 2 live rather far away and can’t help with the day-to-day. We have difficulty understanding each other’s limitations at times and it seems that my mother’s stubborn decline is a large part of what is driving her children away from each other. I only hope we survive. I have a friend who is an only child who thinks having siblings is having someone to share the burden with and I see being an only child as not having someone argue with every idea/thought you have.
Linda, Love love love your post! And, I am happily and proudly featuring you tomorrow at the TFT Party! I hope it gets better. I know exactly what you are going through! Hang in there!
Theresa
I’m so far behind that I am just now (May 1st) reading this post. How are things now, dear friend? (I, too, have been down this road. It is not easy. I kept a journal. I look back now that my parents are gone and say, “only by the grace of God did I survive”. My mother had Alzheimer’s disease.
Things are definitely better. Mom’s memory issues haven’t yet moved into dementia/Alzheimer’s stage. I’m hopeful they won’t. But mom and dad are together in their home. And they now have limited movements due to their health issues — which has been a bit of a blessing during this pandemic! They have been “sheltering at home” for months before this even hit!