Tuesday, August 25, 2009

I've Been Away

I haven't blogged in a while. Life has gotten in the way a bit. My Mom had a very bad stroke and passed away a couple of days later. We had to fly back to Kansas City. She had moderate Alzheimer's before the stroke and her quality of life after was non-existent. She could have suffered for several days or weeks after the stroke. We were talking about a feeding tube but she took a big turn overnight so we decided just to make her more comfortable. I never thought I would be in a place where I would have to make those decisions. Make sure you tell someone you love what you would want them to do for you and talk to them about what they would want for themselves. This is very important and not something you should be shy about.

When we got home, we had some friends come and visit us from Kansas. It was really nice to have them. We went to the Temecula wine country and had some wonderful wine and lunch overlooking a vineyard.

This morning, I awoke to an Acorn Woodpecker standing on our fence. He was so beautiful. He looked like a little clown. I didn't get a picture because I knew if I moved, he would fly so I just enjoyed looking at him. We have scrub oaks on the hill behind us that are just full of Acorns. They live in groups of several males and females and share the raising of their young and the collection of food. A real community. It is known as a "Bushel" of Woodpeckers.

Check out this site for a picture and click on the button to hear their call. My Cat's went nuts when I did! http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/175/_/Acorn_Woodpecker.aspx

6 comments:

qwerty said...

I'm very sorry to hear about your mother. (((hugs))) I can't imagine the difficulty of making such decisions. I hope that knowing she's no longer suffering eases your grief.

Anonymous said...

I'm so sorry about your mother. I have been in that position, and it is not easy. My heart goes out to you. I agree -- it is best to let your wishes be known to your family about what they should do for you in cases like this, long before something comes up.

FredaB said...

I am so sorry to hear about your Mother. It is never easy no matter the age or the health. Hopefully the good memories you have from earlier days will help you in the time ahead.

Hugs

FredaB

Eleana said...

Sorry to hear about your mom...

Maddie Can Fly said...

My sympathies to you about your mother's passing. You're right, people need to talk about these things. I had to make these decisions for a very dear friend that had no family. I'm so glad we had talked about this long before.

Kathy Raker said...

I am sorry to read about your mother. We had the same decision concerning my father. The unexpected is always hard.