Good AND Happy Monday Morning!

Happy Monday Morning to YOU!

The only way this morning could be any happier is if I was OFF from work today.

Alas... that ain't the case. But it would be super duper NICE.

It is eight in the morning. I am going to write for a good 30 minutes. Then I will bounce away and gleefully get ready for work.

My weekend. I didn't have any big plans for the weekend. I remotely thought about doing some grocery shopping, but I didn't. And the grass needs cutting, but it rained the night before, and wet grass is a beast to cut. Can't stand that. So this weekend was to consist of catching up on my sleep and doing chores.

That was until Grandma called.

Let's back up. I called her on Friday to see how she was getting along. She said she was fine. She told me that my uncle, her youngest son, was in a nursing home. This is the first I've heard of that.  She hadn't been to see him, because she didn't exactly know where the place was at. I told her if she learned where, I would take her.

That started some type of scavenger hunt which had me a bit O_o.

"He's out there off of Thornton road, Lisa. You have to turn off there onto a certain street."

Hmm.  "Uh, you need to figure out what 'certain' street," I replied. "I can't take you anywhere and I don't know where to go. Call his wife, his kids, or somebody."

There was NO way I was going out to the west suburbs looking for where he was.

She called me back later on Saturday with an address. She didn't have a name for the place, but she had an address. Good enough. I put it in my phone GPS and it was legitamite. So I told her to call me once she got out of church and I would take her.

See, I have to keep myself from getting a little angry over this whole situation concerning my grandma. Not sure why it is so difficult for her to get the help she needs from other family members. They know she is elderly, and she is at an age where she needs some help. So I am assuming that there is more going on than I know. All I know is that I do my best to help IF she says what is going on.  I think part of the problem is that she is like me... she HATES being a bother to people. I know I do, and I am trying to improve when it comes to that.

So she called me when she got out of church, and I went to pick her up, and we went to see my uncle.

I haven't seen my uncle in some 10 years. Our family just doesn't get together like that anymore. And his family is the most distant of all. I think he has MS, and it has been giving him problems over the years. He still looks the same (he has always reminded me of the lead singer of Kool and the Gang), but he has obviously deteriorated much. So he has to live in this nursing home/rehab center.

My funniest memory of him comes from when I was little. I know he can't be no more than about 18 years older than me. My uncle is a very fine man, and women use to call Grandma's house all the time. We call him "Dean", but that's his middle name. I didn't know that as a 4 year old. So when women called asking, in sultry sexy voices for "Roland", I would holler "You got the wrong number!", and hang up the phone. He was sitting there when I did that one day. "Girl, what are you doing?" he yelled. "You messing me up! dean is my middle name! My first name is Roland!!"

This stunned me like nothing else. It was a topic of conversation and laughter for awhile.

All these years later, He seem to be in good spirits. He was watching old cowboy movies and old black movies to pass the time.

I really don't like these types of places.  Unless they are top of the line, they aren't all that great or sanitary. This one was okay, but it was very sobering to walk around the place and take in all the people in such poor health and state of mind. It made me understand how much I have taken for granted in my life. I work really hard on being appreciative of my life, especially since I suffer with a chronic illness. One bad turn could land me in one of these places. I think about from time to time, as I don't have family who will take me in and help me if I become debilitated.

But it is always sobering to be there.

On a good note, I was happy to take my Grandmother to visit with her youngest child.

My uncle's attitude is surprisingly good. "I like living here, Lisa. It's close to my house. The people are nice here. And my wife can get up here and check on me. And I can use the phone out front to check on them."

He asked me to call his house when I was there, to see when his family was coming to see him. His wife said she had spent the day with him the day before, and was at home washing up his clothes and she would be up there a little later with his daughter. I could hear the exasperation in her voice. It has to be hard working full time and having to make sure she takes care of his needs while he is there.  She said that she had told him that, and that he is sometimes forgetful, so to just be patient while talking to him. I understand that.

Of course I talked to my sister about it, who had called when I was there. She is the inside person to talk to when it comes to family issues, as she keeps up with that. She said that my uncle had been there for awhile. Grandma had talked about it, but she never said anything about going to visit with him. So that was good to know.

I think the problem is just getting Grandma to speak up about things. And it is a lesson I can learn also, as I am much like her in that regard. I am able to coax her a little better these days. "Mama, IF you need some help, feel free to call me. IF you can't figure out how to get it done, call me, and we will see what we can do."

(Always odd that I call her Mama. When I was little, I heard her kids call her that).

That was the personal food for thought for my own weekend. Wasn't expecting any of that, really. My usual weekend of concentrating on myself and decompressing from my workweek was interspersed with a sobering reminder of how good life is. Because it could be so much worse.

With that said, I am looking forward to the week. Maybe there will be less complaining... and more appreciation.  Maybe there will be more willingness to do well.

And a better, deeper sense of thanksgiving. Thankful that I can walk, that I can talk, and that my mind is sound. Man, it is a blessing just to be able to smell, taste, touch, hear and feel.  I've always been thankful that I have been able to take care of myself well, even 10 years after diagnosis. I hope and pray for another good ten years... and many more.

I am just thankful.

Who can ask for anything more.

THAT in itself makes it a Good AND Happy Monday Morning.

What a good lesson to learn this weekend.

Anyway, thanks for participating in my bloggaversary celebration. I hope YOU, dear reader and lurker, win a fabulous prize. I hope you win that $77 7th bloggaversary gift card. Or more importantly, those cookies. (Man, folks are gunning for them.)

Y'all can go back to lurk mode now!

We are pulling names today, and those will be announced in the morning!

With that said... you know how it goes.

Make it a good week... ON PURPOSE!!