The garden was so full of produce that I spent most of my day just trying to get ahead of that mess. Canned 4 quarts of tomatoes. Picked 5 large cabbages. Made a huge batch of stir fry to use up veggies. I also made a huge batch of coleslaw with one of the cabbages. Mom and I went to get groceries this evening. She is much slower than she was a few weeks ago and she has trouble getting her words and thoughts out.
She seems to be happy so I will take that. She managed to dump a package of sweet cherries all over the store as we were checking out. She just goes from one mess to another.
I have not done any laundry but have it down stairs and ready to go. I plan on starting a load after this post. The shop took in a lot of work today but I did very little sewing. I really have to get busy today.
Mom is not doing the ironing any more so I have been trying to go through the pile and get a few pieces done. I feel overwhelmed with the after affect of vacation and the work it involves right now. Am I just getting old or am I just not able to handle the mess anymore? I can't figure it out.
Mom has a doctor appointment today at 10:00 am and then she has a perm appointment at noon. I will be able to get sewing done while she is getting her hair done. I think......
I cannot believe it is almost the end of summer. The kids in our town started back to school today. I am so grateful that my kids are grown and my life is not so hectic. I remember for years and years, I had all three in school and I was coaching at 6 a.m. then home to get kids off to school, and sew and teach dance, or coach drama and then clean at night as well as take care of the house and meals and garden and everything else.
Our season always started August 15th and I started teaching for the University about the 18th. We had to be ready for the Rodeo parade every Fall the first week of September, and Nutcracker auditions were always on the same day as the Parade. So Parade at 10:30 and up to auditions at 1 p.m. It was exhausting. Since I have been blogging, I have given up coaching drama, and cleaning every night. I also sold the studio but continued to teach and this year I am not teaching regularly. For over 35 years I have always taught at least a couple of nights a week. The funny thing is, I am not dreading the fall season coming. I would get sick to my stomach the first of August knowing what I had to do to make ends meet and get my kids where they needed to be every day.
After my first left home and went to college, I had one at a university for 17 straight years. I gave up early morning coaching, but took on much more work from the University teaching dance and then accepted school district work in drama from the two Jr. Highs. I was doing 10 shows a year, but the kids were involved and with me most of the time. Hub's and I would come home from whatever theater we were at and get the kids to bed and then go clean. I look back at those years with a blur and wonder how we did it all.
Now I just have the shop to worry about and mom and that is enough. I will still help at the studio when needed. But the dread of Fall is gone
Hub's is playing the viola in Wicked and his first rehearsal is tonight. He has never played this show before so I expect to hear much more practicing. He is also playing the cello in his quartet now and he really spends a lot of time on that instrument.
Actually come to think of it, fall is my favorite time of year and now I can really enjoy it.
Have a great and productive day!
Kim
I often think back to all I did for so many years, seemingly adding more children and more work. I remember recovering from a day of not sitting at all and going on to doing the same thing the next day. I did get to sit when I sewed! Now, it seems survival is about it.
ReplyDeleteYour being gone probably threw your mother further along the path of dementia. Maybe she will recover her strength and mind a little bit after she gets accustomed to your being back home.
I hope so, she seemed better today.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that now you can enjoy Fall! I think back and can't believe what I did when the kids were home full time and in school.
ReplyDeleteSo glad they are mostly grown now.
But we still have to raise our husbands. I miss you.
DeleteKnow your exhausted, vacation- not matter how fun, makes it hard to get back into the swing of life.
ReplyDeleteSorry your mom seems slower now.. The doctors told us that everytime my mom had a sickness, it would make the dementia worse??? Praying for you both.
I too, remember the stress of the kids being in school..whew.. Wonder now, How I did it.ha
Actually mom was really good today. She was even nice. I will take that. I think she is happy to be back home and taken care of by me. My poor sister was ready to jump off a cliff.
DeleteSO proud you had a good day.. They don't handle change , do they.. My mom is the same way.. Really hard to watch.. hugs.
DeleteSlowing down is a good thing, but I am not ready for fall!
ReplyDeleteI am not ready either but I am looking forward to it and not dreading the upcoming season.
DeleteI don't miss all those busy years either. I worked third shift as a nurse for most of the years my kids were in school. Sleep was hit or miss as it depended on what I was needed for during the day.
ReplyDeleteI'm eager for the Fall as well. My seasonal position is winding down and I should be completely finished around the first week in October. At this point, I'm eager for less obligations.
I know, it is nice to think, I don't have to be any where tonight.
DeleteYou mean it calms down eventually? I am exhausted all the time and think I will never be able to enjoy a season! I am jealous and will vicariously through you!
ReplyDeleteI am really glad you had a good day with your mom - I know they don't come around so much and really, you of all people, needed it.
Yes believe it or not they do go away and move out and then you miss them and they come home and you think, I really lived in this chaos?
DeleteI understand your feeling of dread as that's what I felt every August getting my classroom and curriculum ready plus getting Kazi ready for back to school. Now the dread is mostly gone though I'm told by other retired teachers that it never fully goes away!
ReplyDeleteYou know I really get a sick feeling when I see school supplies come out and then I tell myself, It doesn't matter. Then that feeling goes away and a little butterfly lands on my shoulder:)
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