This weekend, my husband and I made the four-hour trip to my grandmother's house south of Lexington, Kentucky. My 94-year-old grandmother hasn't been back in her house since she had a stroke, then nearly died from pnuemonia, then went for rehabilitation in a nursing home and finally moved in with her daughter near Lexington.
Last month, she started pushing to go back to her house to live. We agreed to try to find someone who will stay with her and last week my cousins moved her back home.
Earl and I spent Friday night with her and she needed care that older people usually need. I trimmed and filed fingernails and toenails. I emptied the portable toilet situated in her bedroom. I took her to the bank and went to the grocery for her.
But in the bedroom where we slept, I was reminded of the woman she used to be, the glamourous Nana who ran her own store and worked at the post office.
This is a jewelry tree that holds some of her clip-on earrings. I remember as a kid going through Nana's costume jewelry. It felt like 1950s movie star glamour.
Here's a close-up of some of Nana's clip-on earrings. Imagine her with her tiny-waisted dress, kitten heels, and ginger hair curling around her ears where these big baubles dangled.
2 comments:
What an amazing grandmother you have... and yourself a loving granddaughter. It's close to impossibile to live by yourself when you're at that age. But your family is admirable in trying to help her cope in her own home. My hats off to you all. I know because my parents are in their 90's. My mom has dementia and needs to stay in a home with professional care. My Dad wants to stay with her and they both have a room together. He's still active and I've to do the run around for him doing errands and what not. He's 94.
That must be heartbreaking for you and your Dad. Luckily, Nana still has a sharp mind. I don't think we'd worry about placating her if she wasn't aware of her surroundings.
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