On the way to our house, we planned to swing thru
the drive-thru at McDonalds to pick up a cheeseburger for mom’s lunch since the
turkey would not be ready until 4PM today. Although Ron had heard that
McDonalds was open on Thanksgiving, they were not open for the lunch crowd.
While Mom sat in the front seat talking to Ron, I
called my brothers from the back seat. I
let them know that Mom was on the way to my home right now and that she was
planning on staying overnight. I suggested
that they come when they could because I had no idea how mom would feel as the
day grew longer.
When we arrived at the house, Ron helped mom up
our garage stairs to our utility room which was by no means an easy task. Once mom reached the top she sat back in her
transporter wheelchair. Our dogs, Baci
and Porsha, both gave mom some love.
She loved the attention.
I heated a pepperoni pizza for us for lunch and
cut mom’s slice in bite-size pieces. She
seemed to enjoy the pizza with an Arnold Palmer (tea and lemonade).
Even though our kitchen was extremely warm due to
cooking the turkey since early morning, mom felt cold. Mom wore a beautiful matching top underneath
a deep rose-colored sweater. I found another warm sweater that I helped her put
on over what she was wearing, however, mom still complained that she was cold.
I grabbed my warmest blanket in my family room
which is faux fur. Mom loved the warmth and the feel of this blanket, but asked
me if I could wrap the blanket all the way up around her neck. Wanting to make mom happy, I did. She looked like a wheelchair mummy with her
head just popping out. Finally, mom was toasty
and happy.
“Julienne, how does my hair look?”
“Would you like me to curl it for you?”
Mom shook her head, “Yes.”
Ron kept an eye on mom, while I raced upstairs to
grab the curling iron and a brush. When
I came downstairs, I also put a little blush on mom to make her feel good. As soon as I finished mom’s hair, mom fell
fast asleep.
Ron and I continued preparing Thanksgiving dinner,
but kept mom close to us at all times. We
did not want her to wake up and be confused about where she was.
When mom woke up, she was a little hungry and
wanted to munch on the mixed nuts. I showed
her that I had a special treat for her . . . lupines which has been an Italian Thanksgiving
tradition since we were growing up. Lupines
are an Italian bean snack that you eat with salt sprinkled on them. Mom loved them and ate quite a few.
Around 1:30pm mom said, “Julienne, I am starting
to feel anxious. I'm uncomfortable.”
“Mom, I will give you your pills now.” I know that her anxiety medicine could be
given to her anytime after 1pm, however, most of the time they prefer to wait until 2pm
to give her the medication.
Mom swallowed the pills, but kept repeating that
she was uncomfortable.
I reassured her several times in the next 15
minutes that the medicine would start to work and she would start feeling
better. At last, the affects of the
medicine kicked in.
The doorbell rang; Jamie had stopped by at 2pm
before going over to Tracy’s mom’s home for their 2:30pm Thanksgiving
dinner. Mom was sure glad to see him; Jamie told
her he would be back to join us for dinner by 4:30pm.
Shortly thereafter, Mom and Dad Lentz came
over. Dad watched the football game
while Mom Lentz sat with Mom Mascitti at the kitchen table. My good fortune is that they both have always
liked each other’s company.
Remembering that I had just updated a book of Mom Mascitti’s
(Portelli was her last name growing up) art drawings when she was a teenager, I showed the book to both of them. Mom
was a talented artist when she was a teenager, but she came from an extremely
poor family. No one in her family
realized that mom could have made money as an artist.
Mom’s favorite characters to draw were from the
Brenda Starr comic strip. As I turned
each page, mom said the names of each character she had drawn. This book was filled with wonderful memories for
mom. Mom Lentz complimented mom on her
beautiful drawings which made mom feel great.
Mom saw the reflection of someone at our window-paned front door . .
. Jerome and Debbie were here. They had
decided to come early also. Mom was glad to see them and happier that Jerome
sat right alongside mom at the kitchen table to talk to her.
Things were going pretty well until about 3:30pm
when mom became highly impatient. She
kept asking if it was time to eat yet.
Although we were eating appetizers now, dinner was not going to be
served until 4:30pm when Jamie was scheduled to come back. Tommy (the turkey) was not even done cooking.
Mom insisted that she wanted to eat so she could
go back to The Community* to go to bed.
I said, “Mom, I have all your medication, pajamas and clothes for you to sleep
here tonight.”
Mom looked at me angrily as though I had lost my
mind. “Why would I want to do this? I have to go back to my own bed, Julienne!”
“Mom, when we came to visit you today, you asked
if you could sleep at my home tonight so I told the nurse and she gave me all
your medicine and the extra oxygen tanks.”
“Julienne, you are making up this story. I would never want to sleep here. I want to go back to my bed.”
I stopped disagreeing. “OK, mom, as soon as we are done with dinner
I will take you back.”
“I must be back by 6pm.” Mom said as if she was Cinderella and something would happen to her if she arrived any later than 6pm.
“Mom, I promise, I will have you back by 6pm.”
I went back in the kitchen and continued to wait on everyone while
Jerome sat next to mom trying to calm her down. He explained that we were
waiting for Jamie and Tracy.
I went back over by mom because mom seemed to
be panicking. She asked me to call Jamie and see where he was at. When I called Jamie at 4:20pm, he was on the
way. Mom said, “He’ll understand. I have to eat now.” With that, Jerome wheeled mom into the dining
room and I made her plate.
I suggested
that we all begin and Jamie and Tracy would join us as soon as they
arrived. As everyone made their plates
and sat down, Jamie and Tracy were here. Once we were all seated, we all held hands and prayed the ‘Our Father’ and of course mom said the prayer in entirety.
Mom loves crispy turkey wings and polish sausage;
Ron made them just the way mom likes them.
I cut her wing which seemed huge on her plate.
Jerome helped to feed her while I went to make my
own plate. Just as soon as I sat down, mom turned to me and said, “Julienne,
let’s go. I gotta be back by 6pm.” I tried to explain that the time was not even
5pm yet. I promised she would be back by 6pm, but mom was uncomfortable in her
own skin. Nothing I could say or do was
going to settle her down.
As I took my first bite of food mom said, “Julienne,
eat faster. C’mon take me home.” I ate very little due to mom’s panic attack which might have been a
blessing in disguise.
I stood up from the table and told mom I needed to
collect all her things and pack the car so I could take her back. I had brought two garbage bags filled of
items that I needed to return to The Community* including mom’s medication and
oxygen tanks.
Before leaving mom needed to use the restroom,
while we were in there mom said, “Julienne, I ask God to bless your every step.”
“Thank you, mom, I love you tons and tons.”
“I love you more, but I want to go home. I never want to do this again.”
I knew mom had had a nice time, but this was her
anxiety talking now so I did not take her comments the wrong way.
Mom and I went back in the dining room so everyone
could hug and kiss mom and say goodnight.
I asked for a gentleman volunteer to help me take mom home because I am
unable to physically lift mom due to my brain tumor weight restrictions. Fortunately, Michael, Ron and my godson
volunteered.
Our adventures for the evening did not end here,
but my blog for today will.
No comments:
Post a Comment