Off to see..
..And despite my recent attendance of the marvelous (let's use the right word here) Wonderful musical Wicked, this post has nothing to do with that great show.


Mom is off on her "Vacation." A one month trial of a local, well, nursing home. They call it a retirement residence and assisted living community, but it is what it is. (So what is it? Don't know yet, that's what this test is for.)

After a long search using all sorts of resources including her friends, her church's pastor and the local support organization for the elderly in this part of the valley, Mom decided to make a trial visit to a place everyone seemed to agree on. Contact with them for info got us a group invite to a sample dinner meal, and a walking tour of the place. The location coudn't be better; just a few city blocks from Mom's old house, and the people were very friendly and attentive. Krystal compared it favorably to one a dear friend is staying in north of San Diego, and we even met Mom's own counselor coming out of her regular visit when we went in for our dinner. So Mom is trying it for a month. "A cruise without the seasickness".

If she decides to stay, we have to figure out what to do with the house, the furniture, where I live, who I live with, where the money goes and where it doesn't go anymore. It's a transition from owning a place outright to paying rent every month, and a hefty one at that.
The place seems pretty good, and it's worth it... but we don't know yet what the final cost will be, not in money but in changes and sacrifices for greater good. Simple example: I don't even know yet how long it takes to get to my work from Mom's place, or vice versa.

And even Mom noticed how they wanted to rush her in. They had an opening for a shared room, but were sure it would fill fast, and the director lady called Mom every day for paperwork "that needed to be done anyway" if she wanted the trial run even by autumn.... and they talked her into doing it Right Now.
This may be the best thing, but oh how I hate being pushed at someone else's convenience speed - and Mom, as an old New Yorker, has the same anti-hard-sell suspicion. She felt pushed too fast also, but kept hoping that fast or not, this is what is right for her now...

I hope this works out.