HOSPITAL: Yesterday my brother Pat called. "Ann's driving dad to the hospital." I believe Dad had a CT scan (or whatever) earlier in the day- might have pneumonia. My sisters have created a separate sib group chat without me, so I don't get messages in real time and I don't get all the details, particularly about doctor appointments, etc. Ann is a nurse and she manages all of their medical issues.
After I finished babysitting, I sat with my mom and her caregiver, who was at their house until 6:00 pm. Marie drove down from Milwaukee to stay with my mom overnight. My brother, Mike told me Marie would be there around 6. Went straight to the hospital, knowing I'd be with Nana, but didn't communicate the change of plans. She arrived at 8:00. I said hello. She didn't respond. Then I said hello again, and she snapped "I said hello. You just can't hear." What now? Then she hid in the bedroom. When I left, I called "Bye Marie." Crickets.
It's unfortunate that my sisters are gonna act like ass hats, but why should today be different than any other day.
I'm hoping to see my dad this evening. Coach flies to NC this afternoon to teach a class. He'll be gone all weekend, so that's not great timing.
When my mom facetimed him before I left, Dad sounded great - good spirits, explaining to my mom that they'd done blood work and that they were just getting him set up in a room.
Dad: Can you see me?
Nana: Yes, you look more handsome than usual.
Dad: (laughing) I doubt that.
Nana: I know, but I just wanted you to feel good.
Dad: I gotta go - this nurse is trying to work on me.
Nana: Well, don't let her work on you too much.
Dad: It's a HE.
Nana chuckled: OH!
Nana seemed much better after their chat. "He sounded good." I agreed. I assured her he just needs to stay there to get the right medicine. The caregiver told me that he had been really tired, but hadn't really been coughing.
She also told me that Kay and Rae joined she and my mom for a walk on Friday. The girls went there after school until Lad could get them after work while we were in South Bend. The caregiver told me that my sisters sort of grunted and seemed a little 'off' when she told them that the girls had walked with them. Of course.
Lad said when he picked them up from Nana's house, Dad said "Lad, these are good girls." Lad told Coach, I think Da's getting soft. Ha.
DELETE ANGST: While at Nana's, I tried to delete photos from my phone. My cell is suffering with an overflowing memory. I deleted some contacts this am, thinking I was deleting the conversations. *sigh* I wave the white flag. I really do not know how to use devices - especially if it involves deleting stuff. Ugh.
*****
This is a photo that I stumbled on when I was deleting stuff. That red donkey toy that the kids in the daycare ride on looks like he's sitting on the couch watching TV. I think someone moved him to the couch to vacuum.
How do you store your photos?
Your sisters - sigh. Hopefully your dad is bouncing back even now! Glad the girls had a walk with Nana. You're so good that you don't let your sisters' boorishness interfere with maintaining your family connection with your mom and dad.
ReplyDeleteAs for photos, I use google photos and try to delete when I have some down time. i really should just export the whole thing to an external drive, but that would take time and effort. And I like looking at pictures or short videos from 8 years ago! My kids were so cute. But I try to delete the junk (like all the homework I had to take pictures of in the first months of covid!)
mbmom11 - My dad was never terribly sick which is why this was so out of left field, but he was very very tired. He's feeling so much better. He's getting another iron infusion tonight and then one in the morning, and then he can go home. Nana will be delighted to have him home. I'm confident she will out live him and that will be so difficult for her. My dad witnessed Marie pack up and race out of his hospital room when I showed up and he'd really been in disbelief that Marie could act like that - Ann, yes - but not Marie. Well he sees it now. I used the group chat to alert everyone what time I was planning to visit today, saying But I can be flexible. Hello, my name is ADULT. Then I updated everyone on the doc saying he could go home tomorrow in the same group chat. My brothers both said things in the group chat, so that was a good effort. I love scrolling to old photos. So many of the photos in my google is the tots and I want to save those, but I also want them out of my way.
DeleteI hope your Dad is on the mend!
ReplyDeleteYour sisters just leave me shaking my head!
I printed about 100 photos last summer. But otherwise the 2000+ photos just live on my phone. I should really go though the photos on my phone and delete the things I don't need. Like sometimes I take a picture of the computer screen at the library instead of printing a page with the call number of a book.
The red donkey seems very interested in the rock climbing show!
Jenny in WV - My dad is going home tomorrow. He's thrilled. My sisters are infantile. I do the same thing - take photos of a grocery list or a kid's homework and then I don't delete. I take SO many pics of the tots and babies - my poor overloaded phone.
DeleteHey, Red Donkey, would you like some popcorn? ;)
Oh goodness, I hope that your dad is on the mend and out of the hospital soon. Having elderly parents is a lot of worry. Both of my parents died far too young (66 and 73) but my in laws are getting up there (88 and 76). It’s hard watching them deteriorate. I wish your relationship with your sisters was stronger, they sound like a lot of work. Not what you need at times like this.
ReplyDeleteJ from Jellyjules.com
Julie - He felt weak but otherwise didn't really feel ill. He had a bit of a fever but wasn't bothered by it. The iron infusion really perked him up. Your parents did die so young. That's heart breaking. I know you've mentioned it before on your blog and it breaks my heart. My sisters are really miserable people. Victims. They have two modes: controlling and judging. There a lot of fun at parties. I feel a bit better because my dad witnessed Marie storm out of his room when I showed up. Grow the hell up.
DeleteYour parents are too cute! They have such a sweet relationship. I hope your dad gets discharged soon. It really sucks that your siblings can't rise above the BS and keep you in the loop. I feel quite out of the loop at times since I'm not on social media so I miss the posts in the private family facebook group. But Phil is still in the group so he keeps me posted on anything important posted there.
ReplyDeleteLisa - My mom still has her sense of humor despite the Alzheimer's. He's coming home tomorrow. Hooray. You said it. Grow up and get over yourself. I put info in the group chat - like stuff the doctor said, because that made the most sense. It's handy to have one of you in the know.
DeleteThat is a funny picture! Hope he enjoyed the show:)
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear that your Dad is hospitalized and that of course, the sisters are in top form during a crisis. I hope your father is released soon and in good health.
Bijoux - I love that little donkey. I think Lad's dog wrestled with him back when he lived here and now Red Donkey loses air fairly quickly. Boo. But the tots love bouncing around on him all the same.
DeleteMy sisters are being shitsters per usual.
Dad feels much better after the iron infusions. He's coming home tomorrow and he's very excited. Nana will be relieved. She'll be so lost when he passes away - which we assume will precede her. :(
I hope your dad will feel better soon. Ooof, the situation with your sisters sounds rough. I used to be so good about organizing my photos into folders and putting them on an external drive. Used to be. The past three years I haven’t organized any of my photos, and it’s getting out of hand.
ReplyDeleteMichelle G.
Michelle - Thank you. Getting those iron infusions really give him a boost. His body isn't keeping up with him and that's hard. Ann is threatening to get him a male nurse to stay at the house and he doesn't want that or need it. Poor dad. She already hired so much care at the house.
DeleteThree years seems doable. That's not too out of hand, is it?
Oh no. I hope your dad is not in the hospital for too long. My dad recently had a stay in hospital with pneumonia, but as soon as they got him on antibiotics he started to feel better. That must be very annoying for you to have your sisters behaving so immaturely at a time like this.
ReplyDeleteMelissa - He's coming home tomorrow and he feels so much better. His biggest issue was feeling weak and the iron infusions have helped with that. He's also on antibiotics. It is a shame that my sisters can't act their age. I've tried to reflect on how I contributed to the situation and it's nuts. I wrote a funny story and it got published - not exactly in the New York Times and yet? Marie cannot laugh at how she ran over the mailbox when she was 16. I was in the car and I got blamed. It's a hoot and it was decades ago. Gosh.
DeleteI'm sorry that your sisters can't rise above during a family crisis/time of need, especially involving your parents. It's inexcusable and childish. Some people just need to be smacked. Kudos to you for being the far better person because that's what's best for your parents. I hope your dad snaps back quickly. It sounds like your mom is in good shape during his absence.
ReplyDeleteI try to be almost brutal about photos on my phone. Like mbmom, I use Google photos. It has almost unlimited space, good organization and search methods, and it allows me to keep only the most "important" or recent photos in my camera roll (I use an iPhone). I also do take the time--because I have it--to go through and delete photos now and then. I can be pretty ruthless.
Nance - 'Some people just need to be smacked.' So so very tempting. Ha. That thought made me chuckle. It is pure nonsense. They have no leg to stand on here. They're embarrassing themselves. Did you know that Marie called her college roommate and told her to never speak to me again? Her roomie's daughter went to college with Tank and when they bumped into each other, she told him that Aunt Marie did that and that her mother was like, Yeah, I'll talk to whoever I want. She's an adult and all. What on earth?
DeleteI use googlephotos and my googlephotos is at max capacity and I already pay for extra storage and I need to move stuff out of there. So many baby photos from my daycare. Cute, but these are not even my kids. I'm working on organizing them at snapfish by month and year. Then I can delete them from Google.
I'm really sorry about your sisters, especially when you're going through health stuff with your parents. I hope it gets better - your dad's health and just being able to be in a room with your sisters.
ReplyDeleteI'm dealing with photo storage issues as well. If you find a good solution, let me know.
Sending you a big hug. Keep us posted. 😘❤️
Kari - My sisters are angry elves. For what? It's all nonsense. Their 'issues' with me are maddeningly baseless - like not anything worthy of this sort of hatred. Really. My dad is feeling better. He's going home tomorrow, so that's great news.
DeleteMy big photo plan is to move everything over to snapfish and sort them by year and month and then I can delete from google. But that's a lengthy project. I like google better, because I can search by face, etc. I just cannot manage the storage anymore.
Thank you.
sending all the good thoughts your way, sibling dramz and all
ReplyDeleteSarah - Thank you. I appreciate that. My sisters cannot conflict resolve, so their sort of stuck acting like infants.
DeleteFingers crossed that your dad recovers well.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to talk about photo storage. It's embarrassing that I call myself an adult.
Engie - Thank you. He seems to be feeling better - his biggest issue was weak and tired. He's been getting iron and that's huge.
DeleteI'm dying at your last line there. Hee hee.
Sending well wishes to your father---I hope that by now he's home??
ReplyDeleteYour sisters are a piece of work! And not the good kind, either.
I love that they still flirt---even at this stage of life. :)
My pics are on my phone (cloud) and my mac, also Cloud. Oh, and I do send a bunch over to Shutterfly, just in case!!
Suz - Thank you. He is home now. He's still on oxygen, but he feels better. My sisters - ugh. I wonder if they are struggling so much due to being co-dependent on our folks . . . watching them /preparing for them to pass away has thrown them off kilter.
DeleteYeah, my mom may be forgetful, but she can turn it on when she wants to.