On Being Grown Up and Assisted Living

I thought that perhaps because I lost my mom when I was 29 that I would not be dealing with anymore death and sickness for a very long time. But you never really know when it's coming. I know that it is just another part of life, but I choose to pretend it's not most of the time.

One of the collateral events of  losing my uncle was that my Granma's care had to be re-arranged. She is not in the best of health (she will not give up those cigarettes) but her main issue is that she is in early stages of Alzheimers. Since I am her closest living (and functional) relative, I am her "agent". I have learned all sorts of fun things about Medicare, VA benefits, Social Security, and assisted living in the last couple of months. Thankfully my stepmom and my brothers are also here to help and my Uncle Ronnie helped move Granma's things here from New Orleans. She is beginning to get settled and besides complaining about how cold it is here, she seems relatively happy. If you know my granma, this makes perfect sense. Happy for her is a diferent state than for most of us. 

At any rate I am glad that she can be just down the street from my house and that she has a safe place to be with her own things around her. She has been through a lot in the last few years, not the least of which is losing her home in Hurricane Katrina. She tells great stories, and even though she tells them over and over, I still like to hear them. I'll post some of her good ones.