Grateful

I have always considered myself fortunate to live so close to my parents and all my siblings.  Tom has not lived near his in over 30 years so another upside to this move will be the proximity to his family.  Within a 3 hour drive we'll be able to head to Jersey for the occasional weekend and be able to help out with the care of Tom's mom.  His siblings have been doing this since 1997 when their dad passed away.

 We have been lucky that they found someone to live in with Eleanor and care for her full time.  Her name is Karen and she seems to be very patient with Eleanor's loss of memory, her physical needs and her occasional grumpiness.  She also is very crafty and spends the days working with Eleanor on puzzles, matching games, crossword puzzles and anything else to keep her occupied.  His mom used to spend her days just sitting in front of the tv, not really watching anything so the activity to keep her mind engaged is wonderful.  Karen has also filled the walls with puzzles surrounded by rick rack, mosaics and other projects and she found this old sign from their flower shop which she hung in the kitchen.  So grateful Eleanor has someone with her who genuinely seems to care about her comforts and well being.

Driving alongside Philly on the way back to DC