Support and Thanks

My brother Eric has rearranged entire days of his life, actually almost everyday, every week, so he can be close by and available to help with Mom and Dad.  Who does that?

Tuesday morning, Dad was doing gymnastics and missed the landing after the last back handspring and landed on the floor. Actually, he was about to sit in a chair...that had wheels in it, and Mom didn't think it would move, but he missed the target when the chair moved and landed on the floor.  Noah ran downstairs to get me and I ran upstairs fearing the worst, but definitely not as panicked as the first time I saw him fall.  Just when I was thinking that I needed another person to help me lift him, Eric arrived.  Blessed relief! Dad hurt his knee and his back, but recovered nicely and was walking just fine with the walker by the end of the day.

Later my sister Patty came and not only helped us with everything, but she spent several hours talking me through a bunch of things.  I felt loved and supported.  What could have been an awful day ended up just fine.

My thoughts turn to Pam.  My last interaction with her was a little stressful.  She has carried the weight of this entire move and has spent hours upon hours, day after day, sorting through Mom and Dad's stuff at the other house.  Pam has lived far away during all the other moves Mom and Dad have had, and it is a HUGE to have her here now, for the biggest one.  It's the biggest one not because they have more stuff than ever, but because they need to get rid of more stuff than ever.  They have packed their lives and stuff  into one bedroom, a small office, and a few cupboards in a shared bathroom.  Lots of decisions have been made about their things and Pam was the right one to do it.  Just a few hours at the other house, for me, was WAY too stressful:

Pam:  Debbie, what about the things in this cupboard?  Is there anything you need in here?
Me: Uhhhhh...(while staring at the pans and containers Mom used all the time to make and deliver her famous pound cake).
Pam:  Are you OK? (She'd been making decisions like this all day long and I was hesitating.)
Debbie:  Well, there are two pans here that do exactly the same thing, and...
Pam:  Just take the best one.
Debbie: OK.  I think these are the things she would put them in to deliver the cakes...why are there so many? I guess if someone didn't bring one back, then...
Pam: Just take the best one.
Debbie: OK.   (Saying OK, but actually not able to think straight enough to match tops to bottoms to find a matching set, or determine which one was best.  Stress level rising...)
Pam:  OK, next cupboard.  Anything in here?
Debbie:  Umm...I'm not sure...I mean...
Pam:  Do you own Quiddler?  What? You don't? You're kidding!
Brooke:  That is the funnest game ever!  You've got to take that.
Debbie: OK. (Taking Quiddler)

All this to demonstrate the fact that I was useless.  Really, all I cared about was being able to play the piano that I had grown up playing.  All the rest was....aaah!  Thank heavens for Pam. And now I run the risk of forgetting somebody, but I will try anyway.  I am so thankful for:

Brooke who helped so much at the old house.
And Kellie for doing my dishes, planning out Sammy's room and the yummy peaches!
Jennifer for going with Mom to get more stuff, even though we didn't need more stuff and even though she was busy.
Anthony for installing the grab bar in the bathroom.
Dave Ruff for buying the chair lift and Deon, Justin and Kayden for bringing the final load over, the load that no one wanted to touch that was all the big furniture and the food storage.
Dave Steinberg for delivering the bed that my boys desperately needed and Natalie for installing it.
Liza who came and took Mom on errands and Doug who fixed my sprinkler, fixed little things here and there all around the house, and would have done anything else I asked.
Patty...where do I start.  So, so supportive to me and Mom and Dad.
Larry for answering every time I called and helping me think around road blocks and talk through problems.
Eric for doing the finances and being in the ring...continually.
Meggy for checking in constantly and worrying and loving from afar.  I promise to call you back!
Terri for checking in and making sure everything is all right.

My family is awesome.  We are headed for a wild ride, but with such amazing people in my court, I can do it!