Next Monday we will be in our new home. With so many packed boxes sitting around it is starting to feel real. What is unreal is the level of fatigue I feel. Too much, too fast, too intense. What is making it hard is that five years ago today I lost Mom. Packing so many of the things she loved has been heart wrenching. I can see where the things were in the home she and Dad loved. I see her every time I look at Pixie.
Pixie is off her feed and moping around. She hates change and five years ago her little world was turned upside down. I have gone from being Mom's caregiver to Reid's caregiver. As frustrating as Mom could be she was a thousand times easier to be a caregiver for than Reid. I've literally lost count of the number of times I have had to save his life when he suddenly went into low blood sugar crises. His out of control diabetes and 40 years of smoking caused the blood flow in his left leg to become blocked and large sores that wouldn't heal that required surgery. I can now add wound bandager extraordinaire to my resume.
It is through friends that I've held it together for the last couple of months. The people here who gave me advice, love, and the money to move. My friend in California who contacted her LDS church out here and they have been packing everything up and will move us come Monday. These ladies are total strangers but they are willing to help a couple of strangers in need.
I know this is for the best but the change is hard for me too. I swore I'd never move and do that unpacking stuff again but hopefully this will be the last time. Once we are settled I can go back and finish the cookbook I've been working on for years. I am putting new recipes in cookbook number two. My niece has asked me to do a third cookbook called Around the World in 80 Meals doing recipes from different places around the globe.
I have discovered a place here in Winston Salem where I'll be able to sell my scarves and jewelry. It is a place for those 55 and older to sell their crafts. They also have craft fairs that I can attend. Reid's health is improving and we are down to a small amount of insulin in the morning and monitoring his diet to keep his diabetes under control. The surgery on his leg was a success and the wounds are now healing. The circulation on his right leg is normal so no surgery is needed there. He had cataracts removed from both eyes so his sight is improved. He will be healthy enough to attend craft fairs with me.
Pixie will settle down once we are moved and everything is set up again. I keep telling her she will be able to look out of three different windows and see trees and birds and squirrels and maybe even deer. She in turn just wants mommy to be there with her. She cuddles next to me at night as I read my mysteries and insists that in each book that the "smelly old dog did it." She glares at Reid when he watches his dog programs on Saturday morning. She truly is a character and makes everything easier for me with her antics and her unconditional love.
So that is where we are at the moment. I need to get more boxes tomorrow and bubble wrap. It is amazing how much bubble wrap I go through. In a few weeks I'll have everything set up in the new place and will take lots of pictures so my friends here can attend my virtual open house. Thank you for all your help and support. I know that today of all days that my Mom would be proud of me. I have the solace of knowing that before she went to bed for the last time five years ago that I hugged her and told her I loved her and that she went the way she wanted in her own bed.