Roll With the Changes

Sunday we went on a family bike ride. Monday and Tuesday we went to the gym so I could workout and then went to the pool with the kids for the afternoon. It feels like a normal life again. Except for the poolside calls from the Visiting Nurses about my father's prescriptions and feeding tube meter rate. But maybe this is what normal life is going to be like for a while.

My siblings and I are all in better contact than we have been in years. Emailing on our yahoo group, calling each other, laughing over my mother's foibles, worrying about my father making it to another winter in such an unsafe winter place. Their decline has brought at least the sisters closer together. My brother remains on the fringes, probably unsure how to proceed. He was against my father having the feeding tube put in and is processing that change in plans. Plus, he's really the farthest away and more detached emotionally.

I'm trying to cram in as many fun things for the kids as possible before the next crisis strikes. Today we are headed to the Museum of Science and Industry for a day of fun. Mark is taking them to Peoria to see his Mom over the weekend while I head back to my parents. My brother in law is there this week, working his shifts at Northwestern's ER and taking care of them instead of sleeping. After that, my parents are going to adjust to having just me there twice a week - once with the kids and once on the weekend without them. I've pared down our fall schedule to just dance and possibly swim team to make it easier to trek out to Indiana. It's a $25 rounds trip gas bite, so our options on museum memberships and classes are slimmed considerably.

Kids are so adaptable, though. They aren't bothered by going to the beach more often, at least not in summer. And they love all their grandparents. They were especially thrilled to meet their Great Uncle Terry from England a few days ago for the first time. They don't remember my parents ever being young. They don't remember that my father held and burped the first 6 grandchildren, but no longer was able to for the last four. I hope they remember how we took care of my parents in their declining years and the love it takes to continue on.