My Hoarder Friends – Day 6

It’s Homecoming day for Priti and Kitty. They each call me separately to arrange for MR and I to pick them up. All hopes of them going into a rehab flew out the window. Kitty’s reasoning is if they can’t get a room together or at least next to each other, they’re not going. Because they each have different issues, that was not probable, so they felt it was better to go home. I don’t know how Kitty was going to take care of Priti at home, but I can only argue gently before Kitty gets mad.

The case worker calls me one last time to ask me to try to get them into rehab. I agree with everything she says but I had to tell her they were dead-set against going. She sighs and says her supervisor is going to call me about a home visit- I told her whatever they need from me, I’m here.

We make arrangements to pick them up late afternoon. MR drives his handicap van, parks it at the front entrance to the hospital and I run in. I see them both, in wheelchairs, sitting about 20 feet from each other, not seeing each other. I go to Priti and I tell her I’m here and she says “we’re waiting for Kitty”. I tell her Kitty is over there, but she is so heavily sedated and in a torso cast that she barely registers this. I wheel her to the van and help her into MR’s wheelchair while he pushes Kitty and helps her walk into the van. We wheel Priti in behind and off we go, home, for better or for worse.

Slowly they make their way into the house and up the stairs. I ask if they need anything and they compile a shopping list for me- water, Diet coke, Ensure, bread, cheese and crackers. I said I’m going shopping later and I will bring it by.

After shopping I let myself in, call that I’m there and put the groceries away. I wash a few dishes and clean off two of the chairs in the dining room and take the now full Christmas decoration bin and craft bin and put them in the garage. I run upstairs, calling them as I go and they answer, exhausted. I ask if they want me to come by each day to continue cleaning up and they agree. I ask if they need anything and they just want to sleep.

See you tomorrow then.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things- Grandkid Edition; Part 3

-when Laney catches me undressed and says “I see your butty-butt-butt”. This phrase originated from her brother.

-Laney’s “potty mouth”. So far we’ve heard WHAT THE HELL, DAMN IT and Come on, B!TCH. Lmao!

-How Laney says “chichens”.

-How the kids already know that Ammaw has sewing supplies, material and can fix anything.

-When Ammaw has to be a “pretty pony” and give very long rides around the house. “Pretty Pony” song must be sung while giving said rides.

-All of Laney’s “babies”. I love each of them, especially Chrisofa. And Baby Ammaw. And Stella.

-How the kids call me “Am”, short for Ammaw.

-Pupa James, the newest baby/invisible friend.

-How Jackson loves school, his teacher, homework and everything about learning. Even remotely. Today he did the Pledge of Allegiance in the morning announcements. And he’s only in kindergarten!

-The jokes they come up with and the terrible punchlines.

-How I have to carry Laney to the car upside down. And how much she loves gymnastics.

-You can tell either of them to feed Archie or let him out and they do it without any help.

-Jackson now in a booster seat.

-Jackson now in his own room and his own bed.

-How their rooms are decorated: him, superheroes, her, unicorns.

-How Laney curls up in my lap and asks to be a baby.

-The face Jackson makes when he knows he’s good at something. It is Beena’s face.

-How they ask to “race” me when they’re leaving in their car.

-That they have friends and boyfriends (Ryder) from school and camp and the conversations they have when they think we’re not listening.

-Laney putting on “hanitizer” (hand sanitizer) and insisting we all use it.

Alaska Trip 2021- Day 1

It started as a little joke- Alaska is the last state Dad had to visit. He mentioned it one day and I said we should go. One thing led to another and next thing I know we’re sitting in the Travel Agency booking the Spectacular Alaska Tour by Globus

Our first flight was out of LaGuardia, at 10, flying into Dallas Fort Worth. LaGuardia is undergoing construction but the waiting area was really nice and we watched the fountain projection and drank coffee while we waited. The flight to DFW was uneventful (I cried on takeoff, as usual). When we got off the plane and I figured we could walk to the next gate, not realizing how freaking big DFW was. We finally figured out how to use the Skylink. Once at our gate, we got a couple of cheeseburgers at McDonald’s to hold us over to Alaska.

Thankfully, Dad upgraded our 6.5 hour flights to and from Alaska, so we had ample leg room. It was still brutally long- we didn’t have headphones so we watched a couple of in-flight nature shows without sound until I figured out the closed-captioning. That and watching the screen monitoring our flight kept us somewhat occupied.

Once we got over Alaska, the pilot had us look out the window at our first glacier. At the time, I didn’t know what a glacier was (I thought it was an iceberg). All I saw was a huge swath of ice between some mountains.

Landing in Anchorage airport and walking to the exit, I kind of realized that Dad was not in very good walking shape. It’s okay, we can stop occasionally and let his heartbeat catch up. It didn’t help that we had luggage we had to carry because the travel agency said the tour didn’t allow rolling luggage. More on that later…

We caught a cab to the Sheraton Hotel and Spa. The cab driver was indigenous and very friendly, telling us the weather was going to be good for the next week and that because of the extended daylight hours, everyone was partying in the bars and restaurants. He showed us his half-gallon of orange/pineapple juice and one of his five bananas he eats every day. Our first impression of Alaska was clean highways, tents under the trees on the side of the road and the beautiful flowers the cab driver pointed out as he drove.

We got to our hotel sweaty, grimy and tired. In the lobby, a table was set up with brochures and papers and a guy named Kip. He was our Globus Tour guide and on first impressions, seemed a little scatterbrained. We asked questions about breakfast, and itineraries and he made us sign a sheet that asked if we were vaccinated and that we were required to wear a mask on the bus. The two couples seated with us complained that since we were all vaccinated, why did we have to wear a mask? Dad and I didn’t care, we were tired, hungry and wanted to go to our room. Kip gave us our room keys and we went to our room.

One of the only stipulations we asked of the tour (through our travel agency) was that we have a room with two beds. Dad wasn’t about to sleep in the same bed as me, lol. So we were a little miffed when we opened our door and there was only one bed. Since Dad was tired, I told him to stay and I’ll go back down to the lobby and request another room. I spoke to the girl at the desk and after a little fumbling, she was able to get us another room, on the floor directly over the first room. I took the key, got Dad and went to the second room. Which had one bed.

Back down to the desk, trying not to be a Karen, I asked for another room. The girl literally forgot that I was just there and proceeded to complain that the hotel complained about what she was wearing. I asked her if it was her first day on the job, but no, it was her first week. While she again fumbled around the system looking for a third room, I asked where we could eat. Since it was the first week the hotel was open for the season, the restaurant wasn’t opened yet but there was a grab and go behind the front desk. When she gave me the key, I asked her if she was sure this room had two beds. She told her co-worker that she would be right back and she went with me to the room to be sure.

It had two beds.

I thanked her and she said it was no problem- she had never been up to the rooms before so it was good that she did.

I went back to the second room and got Dad. We dropped our luggage in our new room and went back down to the lobby to the grab and go and got a sandwich and salad and some snacks, which we put on our room tab. We ate on our beds and called it a very early night.

Welcome to Alaska!