Incredible Woman

I still can't seem to shake this cold/cough/congestion mess. I guess it's what I get for being cocky in the face of all the germs at clinic! Running has gotten pushed aside as I try to knock this out, because I can't much catch my breath just sitting around, much less while running. I also can't afford to miss any clinical days for the next 3 weeks, as the semester is coming to a close and I still am short on hours. Must get well!

So today I thought I'd share a little video I made for my mom's birthday last week. My mom is an incredible woman. She is a dedicated wife, mother, daughter, nurse, Sunday school teacher, and friend. My grandfather (her father) has dementia, and has progressively gotten worse over the past several years. This has been a hard change to witness, as he is one of my heroes--someone I have always looked up to. He is by far one of the best men around, and we have always been super close. Knowing how hard it is for me to see the changes in him, I know it must be 10-fold that for my mom. She is his only daughter.

My granddaddy turned 90 this past May, and up until the past few years, has been blessed with great health. My grandmama is 88 this year, and is still on the go. But the changes in my grandfather have taken a toll on her. She is his primary caretaker, and when he is up many hours of the night confused and aggravated, she must be up with him. My mom dedicates the majority of her free time to them--going to their house almost every day after her regular nursing job to check on meals and medications, and just to give my grandmother a break. She spends the majority of her weekends with them, and sometimes her mornings before work. My grandmother fell and fractured her pelvis a couple of weeks ago, so lately my mom has made a bed on their couch many nights.

In between all of her hard work, my mom somehow finds the time to call me everyday just to chat, spend time with my dad, and maintain a positive attitude. When I told her thank you the other day for all that she does for my grandparents, and I'm sorry that she's having to spend so much time on such stressful jobs and decisions, her response was this: "You know what, it's my family. Family comes first, always." Like I said, an incredible woman.

The past year I have been living away from my hometown attending graduate school, and while I get back often, I can't help out like I could if I was still there. I miss having my family right down the street. I feel like each time I see my granddaddy, there's a little more he doesn't remember about me. While it's hard, I'm grateful that he's still around each time I go home to visit.

My mom loves to come to Charleston and visit us, but unfortunately the circumstances lately haven't allowed her to leave on the weekends very often.

For her birthday, I decided to make her a little "video gift". Our bank account is hurting right now while I'm not working, and my mom's birthday is on Veteran's day each year, so she has never been able to get a birthday card in the mail on her actual birthday! I thought this would be a great way to remedy that. I hope she will take me up on my offer to come home for a weekend to care for (and visit with!) my grandparents while she and my dad take a much-needed break to our home in Charleston.






Happy Monday, everyone. I hope it's a great start to a new week.