In The Eye of the Storm

I feel I am in the eye of the storm. After speaking with the cousins yesterday and thinking on what they said and then visiting with Dianne last night—Dianne thought I should call my brother who is sitting in the middle of the turbulence and trying to negotiate a satisfying conclusion while sitting on a mountain of stress, pain and fear of his very own. My brother informed me that mom has made the decision ‘to move on” she is going to along term care facility. He told me she is Ok with this move and chose the long term care facility over a assisted living program of one sort or another. Mom feels she will get the complete care she is needing from long term care. Sound like mom is also going to consider relocating to the Salt Lake area where members of her family(her immediate family) can visit on a more regular basis especially me—a guy in a wheelchair.

The center of the storm is always quiet and that’s where we are at now. Mom has until she finishes he cancer regime, five or six more days and then she needs to be moving. My brother is working with his kids who have inside connections to the long term care industry In this part of the world. He is checking what resources my mom has regarding Medicare, union benefits my mom had through my fathers legacy and then there is the issue of what kind of deal my mom and her sister had negotiated years ago when mom moved to Utah from Idaho. It sounds like a whole mess of things are going to have to be looked at.

My mom came to this part of the country because it is where she was raised. She is related to everyone in the cemetery. She believes in family she believes in this little community. I hate to think of what her disappointment now in both. Even though she seems to be in good spirits about what is happening. I know she figured her current housing situation was going to be the last move she was ever going to make before moving into the real estate next to my dad. So it’s got to hurt a little to have to refigure you exit plan, to HAVE tom refigure your exit plan under pressure.

Because families are forever my brother is being as sensitive to all involved as he can. When we pass out of the “eye” of this storm and back into the rim of the centrifuge, when we have to sort out mom’s stuff, get her squared away in her new surroundings an deal with any separation anxiety she might have when she realizes she was forced out by her closest living family member. My mom knows the family has to continue even after she is gone so she is going quietly. My older brother knows this too so he is being the obedient son and the respectful nephew.

I, once again, am just the fly on the wall watching the world unfold.