Statue update: it’s gray and rainy today. a little sunshine would go a long way around here. I continue to cough. Status quo.
Meanwhile…Saturday mornin, Feb 22nd, Kevin sent me this photo of a boat on the lake.
The reason we’d chosen to go to Tampa is because mom’s cousin Barb lives in nearby Lakeland. Mom went to visit Barb a few years ago. I tried to encourage Mom to go back for another visit but she hadn’t managed it. Barb is in her early 90s and i decided that it’d be a good idea to visit her. Our original plan was to go to St. Pete/Tampa and then stay with Barb for our last night.
Unfortunately Barb fell and broke her back before we made the trip. Breaking your back has to be terrible. So we weren’t able to stay with her, but then Mom and Barb talked and we arranged to meet her and her lovely caregiver, Brenda, at an Applebee’s in Lakeland, an hour away, for lunch on Saturday.
We drove on I-4 which was way too trafficky and many cars flew by us. I was happy to get to Applebees.
We had a nice lunch (remember when we restaurants were open and we could go out to eat?), and I thought Barb was in remarkable shape. She was using a walker and had to go slow but her mobility was fantastic. She’d fallen in November while visiting her children in California and as i recall i don’t think she went to the doctor right away.
She and had fractured a lower vertabrae and didn’t have a brace or anything .
Her caregiver Brenda, was very sweet and interesting. Barb had had lots more help but now i think brenda was only assisting her for a few hours a day, maybe four days a week.
We all went back to Barb’s and had a piece of this delicious cake which they’d gotten for Mom’s birthday, which was on the 26th.
After cake, Brenda had to leave, and the three of us then drove to visit Barb’s sister Charlotte in a nursing home about an hour away.
Charlotte was so happy to see us; Barb hadn’t been able to visit since she’d been injured in November. We stayed for a few hours and i was so glad that Barb and Charlotte got to visit.
I worry about poor Charlotte now. The nursing home didn’t seem like the greatest, and what’s she doing now? Not getting any visitors, I imagine.
We went back to Barb’s and I played her piano a little. I should do more of that.
Here’s Barb’s beautiful lanai. It was so inviting.
We finally left before dark after taking this selfie.
I didn’t want to get back on I-4 so instead we took a back road. It was interesting to drive through the countryside but unfortunately it got dark pretty quickly so we didn’t get to see much of it.
We got back to the house and had more Trader Joe’s food plus generous pieces of that delicious cake, which Barb had insisted we take with us.
Back at home…Riley was in a sack. Because that’s what he does.
Ok then,
grace on a gray rainy march afternoon.