The Week Ahead

Just one question ~ where did April go?  May is here and I have no idea what happened to April.  It felt like the entire month got condensed into a short blur.  It's kind of like living in the Twilight Zone.  I'm almost dizzy.  It's so  bad that I actually thought I had 12 days before leaving for Denver and Laramie BUT I have 5 days to get ready ~ I leave on May 8.

 

This calls for extreme organization and focus.  Tomorrow is hair cut and color touch up day.  Friday is my nail appointment.  Over the weekend, I will stock up the cupboards and fridge with provisions to get Dennis and Cari through the first week or so and then they are on their own.  I will also get the laundry caught up because I have to pack most of it.  I need to get the guest room cleaned because my Mom is coming back to California with me for a week.  She wants to meet her new great grandson and to see the rest of the great grandchildren, her grandchildren, and the rest of us if she can fit us in.  LOL  I will leave instructions with Cari to dust and vacuum the guest room again right before  we get back so it's fresh as a daisy.

 

Saturday, my dear friend, Joan is graduating from college with a B.A. in Education.  Yeah, Joan!  I'm so proud of her.  She's an amazing woman and I know she will be a terrific teacher.  She has been a sign language interpreter for years working in a school district.  Each year, she is assigned a deaf student.  She goes to class with the student and signs everything going on in class so the student understands what is going on and what the teacher is saying.  This background will be great experience as she transition to being the teacher.  I'm going to her graduation party on Saturday afternoon.

 

Saturday evening, Cari and I are going to a play called Sequins  which is written by her friend, Jordan Beck.  He's the young man who is writing the play/musical about MySpace that will be opening on Broadway later this year.  We are really looking forward to the experience.  It's the first time I've ever gone to a play and known the writer. 

 

Sunday the grandchildren are coming for a visit so I can see them before I leave.  I haven't seen them since the Saturday before Easter.  Little Matthew is growing like a weed and I do not want to wait until the middle of the month to see him again.  He's changing so fast.  I want to experience all the stages. 

 

So with all of this stuff going on, my organizational skills will be put to the test.  I may need some help from my daughter around Monday night but I'm sure everything will get done and I will be ready to fly away on Tuesday morning.

 

While in Denver/Laramie I will be with my Mom when she has her annual colonoscopy.  I won't be in the room, of course, (LOL) but I want to be there to lend support.  A year ago, December, she had major surgery which resulted in her having a ileostomy until March, 2006 when she had surgery to reverse it.  Now she has to have a colonoscopy every year to be sure scar tissue isn't forming in the colon causing blockage.  I'm sure everything is fine but she needs to check to be sure. 

 

After  Mom's test, we will be seeing her sister Helen who is recovering and doing very well after surgery for breast cancer.  We'll be seeing some cousins and their husbands which will be a lot of fun.  We plan to go back to Laramie on the 11th.  While there, we will take care of some business now that Mom has all the copies of Dad's death certificates.  We can finalize some things that were waiting for that document. 

 

I want to go through all the cards and letters she got from friends and family after Dad died.  I also want to visit the cemetery and take flowers.  I want to see Dad's best friend, Jim, and a few other people who were very important to him.  I want to thank them for bringing so much joy to his life.  I want to do the things I would have done if I had been there when he died and for his funeral.  I need to go through all of the motions and say all of the things that I wanted to say to get closure.  It's very important to me to feel finished with the details and to start letting the finality of his death sink in.

 

I have flashes of how final it is - how cold and harsh the reality is but I haven't taken in all in.  I miss our phone calls.  We used to talk at least once a week, usually twice.  Sometimes I wake up and my first thought is, "I need to call Dad today," and then a wave a panic and sadness hits me and I know I'm a long way from acceptance and serenity.