CEM, Grandpa, Grandma

Mama and I traveled to Glen Rose Saturday to attend the dedication of the new lab recently build onto the Creation Evidence Museum. It was a wonderful event. It took longer that planned, but it was well presented. There were a series of lectures, special presentations, recognition of specific individuals whose generosity have made the lab possible and a performance by a virtuoso violinist as well as a mini-concert by a world renowned pianist. There were no breaks offered after the ceremony started at 11 am and as Mama and I slipped out about halfway through the piano performance we passed through a slightly upset growing crowd of individuals who were waiting for the museum to reopen once the ceremony was concluded.

We sat through the ceremony with a couple of ladies who turned out to be sisters and in our conversations with them, they shared a recommendation of a local restaurant. The Loco Coyote Grill. It sounded interesting so Mama and I headed that direction once we were out of the museum. The sisters had left a bit before us, and we wondered if they had followed their recommendation for lunch. We followed the directions on our phone to find the restaurant and were just about to give up the search when the restaurant came into view around a sharp curve. We had thought we were being led astray since the road we were on seemed too remote to have a business on it – much less a famous restaurant. But it was there, as promised.

The place was packed. I let Mama out before I parked and by the time, I had found a place to park, Mama had arranged a table for us with the caveat that we would share a table with a couple ladies already seated. Those two ladies were the sister’s we had sat beside at the ceremony. So, we continued our conversation about the museum and some of the various points shared in the lectures presented. We ordered fish on the recommendation of our new-found friends. The food was good. The portions were huge and since Mama and I had been forewarned, we shared a three-piece fish dinner. It was almost more than Mama could finish, but we put forth the extra effort to consume the entire meal.

We got home about 6 pm and immediately got changed to feed the animals so, by the time we were finished with that, Grandma needed some attention to catch up on the events of their day. Through the recitation Mama discovered that Grandpa had not really eaten anything that day. She immediately set about to rectify that. He is hesitant to ask Grandma to fix anything, but he also does not go too far out of his way to fix anything for himself. The two of them largely snack through the days and if Mama does not fix something acceptable for a meal, they eat things they can unwrap and eat directly from the package. Fortunately, neither of them is talking about getting a place of their own. Possibly recognizing that they are in no condition to do so.

Partly because of a poor diet and partly because of growing health issues, Grandpa has had more complaints about a lack of energy and a complete lack of strength. That is troubling to me and Mama. Grandpa does not complain or even voice concerns about his health, but it is becoming a pretty regular topic of conversation. Most of his time is spent sitting in a chair on the front walk of the house, getting up only to use the bathroom. Grandma fills many of those hours with rambling chatter. Music blared from her phone or talking on the phone to those who keep up daily conversations with her – none of which Grandpa participates in despite Grandma’s insistence.

As for Grandma, she has fallen twice in as many weeks. Most recently, she tripped on a rug in their bedroom and hit the floor face first, busting and bloodying her nose. Both of those falls required us to physically lift her up onto her feet. Not an easy task. That fall required Mama and I to remove the rug from the floor of their bedroom – also not an easy task since it was tucked under two heavy pieces of furniture. We rolled up and moved the rug in the hallway as well. We will see how long it is before there is another fall, any one of which could do Grandma great harm. Caring for the two of them, has become a passive oppressive task. We have to be constantly on guard for any hint of issues and we must allow them to do as much as they can for themselves, so they have a sense of freedom in their lives. They cannot be left alone for long, yet they cannot be smothered by constant obvious supervision. It is a delicate balance that requires a lot of patience and a lot of love.  

Fortunately, Mama is very good at it.