Family Doings

Sometimes I wonder how it is that I ever survived all those years and years when it was just me and the single spouse trying to keep the family unit running. Work schedules and household chores and child-rearing responsibilities and the responsibilities of basic citizenship and the efforts required to maintain any semblance of a social life can be daunting during the very best of times; if there are even minimal challenges added to that mix, it becomes nearly impossible for the "normal" family unit to juggle it all. I know -- I did it for a really long time with a sometimes less than stellar partner.

Every now and then we dance the "poly" dance in such a fashion that it is illustrative of the awesome benefits of having more hands. Last night was one of those times.

Grandma had a doctor's appointment scheduled for 7:15 PM. That's well past dark in these parts at this time of the year, and Grandpa is not really competent to find his way to the doctor's office in the dark, nor is he capable of wrangling Grandma, in her confused mental state, without considerable assistance. Normally, Master would accompany them, but He had a meeting to attend Himself, so T and I converged on "the home" from our respective after work directions to help get the elders to the docs.

When we got to their apartment, T got hold of Grandpa's car keys, and I took charge of Grandma's wheelchair. We sent Grandpa off to sign us out. By the time I got her wheeled down to the exit where we were going to meet T with the car, she was already totally lost, but still pretty compliant. Then, things began to get a little "iffy." We are finally having a bit of wintery weather here -- temperatures down into the low 30's and Grandma was not just about to put her coat on. Not surprising actally, since they keep the temperature in "the home" somewhere near 85 degrees. She's awfully confused about a lot of things, but like many a stubborn two-year-old, when she makes up her mind to NOT do something, she's NOT GOING TO DO IT! Makes Grampa crazy! We finally got her in the backseat of the olager-buick and got underway.

It really wasn't far (as the crow flies) to the clinic. There was just one problem. Grandpa didn't know where the place was. He didn't know the address. Didn't know what it was called. Didn't have any directions. He did have some vague recollection of how to get there. So... He was in the front with T giving directions: "drive this way; turn left at the light; right at the next intersection; go slowly along here; then right -- no left... Ooops! That's a dead end. Maybe it's back that way. T has the patience of a saint. She never ever gave even the slightest hint of impatience or frustration. Just kept driving and following the completely whimsical directions. It didn't take long for it to become clear that he had no idea where we were going. To make matters even more complex, the neighborhood was more than a little "rough."

Eventually we found our way to a main street where we eventually found an open business with one lone employee. T pulled over, and I hopped out and ran in. I asked the fellow if he could help me -- explained that I was trying to help "my elderly parents" get to a doctor appointment, and that my father did not know how to find the place. Did he, by any chance, know where I might find "__________ Medical Center" which was the name that Grandpa had given us. Bless him, the guy worked really hard to try and find the place for me. He looked through the phone book; he tried to call the city offices and the county offices (both of which were closed at that hour). No luck. There was no such place listed. Finally, between the two of us, we found a family practice medical office with a name that was kind of (remotely) like the one that we'd been hunting for. The address listed was not one that the guy recognized, but he thought we might be able to find the cross street if we went back down the main street.

I went tearing back out to the car and passed on the results of my reconnaisance. We turned around and retraced our steps, and lo and behold -- there it was! Success!

We pulled in and I scooted in to get a wheelchair for Grandma. We got her loaded in and all seemed good. I thought T had her, and T thought I had her. Turns out neither of us had her. Suddenly, she was free wheeling down the driveway, headed for the frozen grass and mud. EEEKKKK! Luckily, we didn't dump her on her head. T retrieved her and we got her in for her appointment. Got things all taken care of. Hooray!

Going home was a whole lot easier. Right. Left. Down the main drag. Back to "the home." A few laughs about some silliness. All ends well. Grandma and Grandpa back home safe and sound.

We all got home late. Dragged off for a bit of dinner at a place close to home. And then home and off to bed. The whole bunch of us worn out, but glad for the blessings of family and enough hands and hearts to take care of all that needs to be done.

swan