What a year!

I hope this finds you all well and safe. I had an interesting summer. My 93 year old mother fell, twice. Once on May 22 and the second time 2 weeks later. The first time was on her birthday. She lives in a lovely condo complex with many wonderful neighbors. They decided to give her a balloon party. People would put balloons in her yard, then at 3:00 people would come and stand in the yard, with face masks of course, and wish her a happy birthday.

balloon party

This party was a surprise, and people had started putting the balloons in her yard the night before, so when she opened the blinds on her front door in the morning she was quite surprised. She went to get her iPad because she wanted to take a photo. However she was too busy fussing with the iPad and not looking at the 3 steps she had to go down to get to the door and she missed the last step and hit her head. She got a good sized cut but no need for stitches. By 3:00she was fine. She got over 100 balloons.

Two weeks later she sipped in the bathroom but this time she broke her ankle. She was given a waking boot which she could take off when she wasn’t walking and when she slept. But she was unable to reach down and unfasten or refasten the straps on the boot by herself, which meant she needed more care than what my sister could do. I needed to make the trip from Massachusetts to Michigan during a pandemic. Should I fly? Should I drive? If I drive would I be able to find a safe place to stay the night and open restrooms along the way. Do I dare get on a plane with the possibility of being near some one who was asymtomatic with COVID. I chose to drive 14 hours. I took all the food I needed in a cooler so I wouldn’t need to go to a restaurant. I was hoping to make it in one day but just couldn’t. So I got there about 1:00 the second day, just in time for lunch.

My original plan was to stay for 2 weeks, but when I got there with Mom I realized that I’d need to stay until she could walk without the boot, 5 weeks. Needless to say I did not create any cards while I was there. I took my Zentangle pens and tiles so I could draw. I needed something to keep me occupied while I was gone. I got home mid July. My dear husband was so glad to have me home. He told me that everyday for the first 2 weeks I was home.

I’ve been busy making cards since I’ve been home and have had a lot of fun doing that. I have no idea how why some of the photos are sideways. They’re correct when I look at them in my Photo Library.

3 Comments

  1. Shelli M.

    October 17, 2020 at 3:49 pm

    A lawn balloon party! What an awesome idea for a pandemic-era birthday party. I was really glad to see how cautious you were, driving to your mom’s house. As an immunocompromised person, I am always so hurt when people are not cautious around those of us who are the most vulnerable. I’m really sorry to hear about all your mom’s falls; tell her no walking while using devices (I have to laugh that at 93, she’s acting like a Millennial or a Gen Z!)! May she have an uneventful (at least no more *bad* events) and quick recovery.

    By the way, I can’t see *any* of your Zentangle photos now (although I can see the balloon party pic)!

    Glad to have found your blog and your art.
    Warm regards,
    Shelli M.

    1. Shelli Meyers

      October 17, 2020 at 3:52 pm

      Derp! Laurie, forget what I just said; now I can see all of your pretty card pictures (and they’re all right side up)! Maybe I just happen to be here when you were re-uploading new ones? Anyway, they’re gorgeous!

    2. Laurie Patterson

      October 17, 2020 at 5:19 pm

      Thank you.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.