Photo for tax. It’s pretty, and citrus fruits are rather healthy for you. So, thematically on point.
I stopped over at my parents’ house to pick up a package that had arrived today. DANG I nearly just panicked about an Amazon order my daughter was sending me, that she thought would arrive today. Me already at home, it being well after 10 PM, and no one home there for most of the day. But I checked just now, and Amazon said it would be coming tomorrow. Whew!
We’ll get into the why no one was home, momentarily. Before we get SUPER super serious, here’s what arrived today. My treat to me after a very, very difficult day, since they were running a sale, and there was also free shipping.
This was something I splurged on before I realized there was a credit card bill I hadn’t yet accounted for. Alas. But they are very cute! Midnight and Sakura Baby Mothman plushies from Squishable.
Photo taken at the parental kitchen table.
While I was sitting there with my Squishes, etc., my mom placed a call to my daughter on her cell phone. She didn’t hang up, so the voicemail recorded a lot of background sound and dead air. I followed the directions to re-record the message and handed the phone back to her to fix it.
I’m not sure if she understood what I was saying about how all she had to do was talk. “Say whatever you wanted to say,” I told her.
All of a sudden, as she was poking around in her contacts to pull up my daughter (after, I think, hanging up by mistake this time), she began slurring her words. One side of her mouth was drooping down, and she was drooling a little on that side.
I immediately rushed to find my dad and tell him what was happening.
He was extremely upset and threw down a handful of papers, but came with me to talk to her. I had tried to tell her what was going on. She looked in the mirror and swore her face looked fine. I’m not sure if the garbled sounds of her speech even registered as strange to her.
She did take a low-dose Aspirin, but then refused again to get into the car and go to the hospital. Instead, she went into the living and dining room and sat down to say the rosary.
I stressed that if she wouldn’t come with us, we’d have to call paramedics to take her. My dad promised he wouldn’t leave her overnight at the hospital (not a promise he was able to keep, as it would happen). Eventually, she got in the car.
I wasn’t sure how long everything would take and didn’t know if I wanted to try and get out of working today, versus having the distraction of work, rather than just sitting around worrying. Plus, being management, I’m harder to replace on short notice than regular staff. Especially since someone just quit, shy of their two week notice.
So, I did drive to work, while he took her back to the hospital.
But I texted my daughter a lot, as she was in touch with them off and on all day.
My mom had left me a voicemail, which I found 10 minutes after she called, since I was on the ball about checking my phone for updates (which the manager was totally okay with, under the circumstances… she’d even said I could keep my ringer on if I wanted to).
Called her back from one of the back rooms. She sounded MUCH better. I had been SO worried that the droop to her face would be permanent. Yes, I was frustrated with her for refusing to take recommended medications, which might have prevented what happened today, but I didn’t want her to suffer for it. I’d also wondered if she would lose mobility on one whole side of her body and begin needing daily medical care for the rest of her life. That seems not to be the case.
They gave her another CT scan, and a fresh MRI. The suspicion is that she has a blockage in her neck, but no one will know for certain until the doctor interprets the MRI in the morning.
She REALLY really didn’t want to stay overnight, but honestly, I think being under medical supervision right now is the best thing for her. And my dad said to my daughter that he’d talk to the doctor about stressing the importance of the meds even more than the last time they discussed it with her. I guess he also told kiddo that he’d offered to take the meds with her, just to get her to take them. Which PROBABLY isn’t wise. So, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
On the plus side, beyond her sounding much, much better (no slurring, no apparent cognitive issues), she also really loved the dinner they gave her. It sounded maybe like chicken parmesan? Dunno if they added the cheese, but it was chicken in marinara, with a salad with ranch dressing, and fresh pineapple, and apple juice.
That’s more sugar than she’s used to in a single meal, so it raised her blood sugar some. They may give her something for that, while she’s there. At home, she’s pretty darn careful, but does permit herself some very, very small treats.
When I talked to her from work, they hadn’t yet known the timetable on the MRI results. That, I found out in a voicemail my dad had left, that I listened to after work. He’d called from their house, saying he would be going back to the hospital (but he didn’t say how soon). The message was an hour old.
I called him back at the same number and left a message, then drove to the house to check in with the cat who lives there, and just pause, and call everyone by cell. Find out what was going on.
I stayed past 9:30 PM, but he still wasn’t back. Eventually, I decided to come home. But I updated two of my friends, and kiddo, and told kiddo her grandma had been struggling to get her on the phone. Must’ve been misdialing, rather than pulling her up in contacts. Kiddo said she’d call them once we got off the phone.
We’ll see exactly what we’re dealing with tomorrow.
I work again in the afternoon until close, but we at least close earlier Monday thru Thursday, now. And Wednesday, I am off altogether. I was asked to fill in but told her today that I can’t, have too much going on. She said it was fine, that someone else is already taking the shift.
Again me with the restaurant food, but I happened to remember that I have a coupon for a free breakfast from a local joint, for my birthday month. Considering using that tomorrow morning, and just adding to what I get free, to make it a little more filling. Probably hash browns to have with my eggs. If I did that, I could get groceries Wednesday? It would mean going grocery shopping on nothing but maybe fruit and zero sugar soda, but I could manage, I think.
All depends on how early I can get up and out, whether I would have time to make a sit-down restaurant visit work. With everything going on around me, finding the wherewithal to grocery shop has been really, really hard. But I ultimately have to find a way to take care of myself, too.
Also will need a pharmacy run, but I think that can wait ’til Wednesday, as well. I should have enough to get through until then.
OH back to the Amazon order from kiddo.
She told me last night while I was RIGHTEOUSLY depressed that she thought Vessel (from Sleep Token) would want me to live. I was a little mean, I will admit, but I said, “I feel like Vessel also would have wanted you to get me something for Christmas, and Mother’s Day. I was really sad about the Christmas thing. I cried.”
Well, she apologized for Christmas, and agreed she really should have sent SOMETHING.
I would have been happy with a 99 cent Kindle edition or whatever that she thought I might like… I wouldn’t expect her to jeopardize her ability to pay bills over me. Just a little thoughtful something or other.
I guess it also rankled that I knew she had bought gifts for plenty of people in her life down there. So I felt left out. BUT she also added that “Welp…” she had just been about to add a few things to cart, as a surprise late Mother’s Day and early birthday combo kind of thing. Two gifts. One for right away, and one for later. A Kindle book from my “To Be Read (Once Acquired)” wish list and one from my “All-Purpose Wish List.”
A M/M dark romance I’d been eyeing, and a set of reusable decorative paper towels, with skulls and crows and things on them. Black graphics against a stark white background.
Don’t have the paper towel things yet, so I can’t share those, and since the book isn’t a physical copy, all I can do is screenshot, which would be a copyright no-no. BUT… even if this seems WILDLY inappropriate, given the rest of the post, I’m willing to share some on-brand eye candy I found on Pexels. Not a lot of spicy dude content on there. Someone ought to remedy that.
The dark-haired character would I think be maybe a touch buffer, slightly longer hair (bangs frequently falling over his eyes), and covered in scars and healed bullet wounds. But, hey. You can use your imagination.
Back when we first discussed the possibility of Mother’s Day gifting, I had added a lot of things, making sure to give her a wide range of prices, so she could figure out on her own how much she wanted to spend. And again, any of them would have been perfect.
So, we reconciled over that, and I felt better.
And, now I can steadily rebuild my collection of kitchen goods and flatware and such, from my wish list. I won’t expect her to get ALL of it. I can get some for myself, too, eventually. Rainbow stainless steel things, etc. Fun, fun.
I’m actually already at the halfway point of the novel, and she only sent it yesterday.
Here’s to rekindling hope in every way possible, and finding joy whenever I can.
And if you have a moment, please spare a thought or a prayer or whatever you can, for my mom.
Aw, I just heard the sound of a reaction coming through to a text I’d sent. Odd, since kiddo should be SOUND asleep by now, since she has to wake up at like 5/5:30 AM for work.
It was my mom, hearting something I’d sent some time ago.
I told her, “You should be sleeping, young lady!” followed by a laughing emoji.
Hopefully she gets some rest. I know she had a hard time sleeping in the hospital when she had a TIA back in August and had to again stay for tests. Maybe they’ll give her something. I think last time, they offered her some Melatonin, at her request.
A pleasant night’s rest, and much positivity, to all.
I’ll have to see about getting my mom some kind of little something, too, as a bonus post-Mother’s-Day, stay-well present.
All the Bright and Sparkly Things 
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