I don’t have a fashion post for you today. Honestly, it’s not always easy for me to come up with fresh things to share in fashion. I love fashion, but it’s not such a passion that I wake up thinking about it. I have a closet full of clothes and need to do another cleaning out soon. So needless to say, fashion is not always my priority to keep up with. Bless those girls who do it every day, I don’t know how they keep up with it all.
So today, I thought I’d do a life update. I haven’t done one of those in awhile.
First, let me say I’m very concerned about our country. I don’t talk politics on here very much at all, but to say that we have a lot going on in our country is an understatement. I know that God is in control and my trust lies in Him, but there is so much we are all dealing with last year and this year. I think most of you know that I’m a conservative. I pray that God will see us through whatever we are going to face in the future. That might sound like a downer, but I have to put my trust in the one who knows it all, otherwise I’d go insane! I’ll just leave it at that for now.
We’ll start with mom and dad. This year has not been that easy for them either. Right after Mother’s Day, mom started having pretty severe back issues. We’ve been to several doctor appointments for her and they did a scan which showed many compression fractures, one area worse than others. The neurosurgeon did not think she was a candidate for any of the”plasty” treatments, where they inject a cement like substance into the back to stabilize an area. But they did send her to another specialist who also looked at the scan and gave the same answer. He told us it would be a guessing game trying to figure out just where the pain was coming from and that if he did stabilize one area, it could cause harm in another. So for now she’s going to rest at home and try to heal up. Her pain level is definitely better than it was the first 2 or 3 weeks this all started, so it looks like she is healing up some.
{This is an old pic and she’s not nearly as perky now.}
We may have to live with this new normal, but he said a steroid shot might help her if she wants to try that later on. For now, she is going to give it a couple more months and see how she feels then. She’s pretty stable now, she can get up and move around as needed and she’s using a cane, but when she tries to stand in the kitchen for very long, it really starts to hurt. She’s not getting outside like she used to. She was always so active even the last few years, but this is finally catching up to her.
{Mother’s Day this year, right before the back pain got worse.}
We have a lady that we know, Sheila, coming in 2 or 3 times a week as needed. and she has been a God send. She helps mom with chores, bakes cakes and cooks some meals so that they have left overs to eat. I am going a couple of times a week and I take food as well. We have some good country cooking places close by so I go there and get food to go and it gives them plenty to eat on for a couple of days at a time. We are managing like this for now, but we may need more help in the future.
We are taking mom on Friday to get fitted for new hearing aids. She’s finally getting some and really needs them. Her hearing has gotten way worse the last year or 2 and she wants to wear hearing aids, so I’m glad she’s getting those.
{Dad and I on Father’s Day.}
I think I’ve mentioned before that Dad has dementia and it’s getting worse as well. It’s so hard to watch them decline with age, but I knew it was going to happen eventually. Dad turns 94 today and really, it’s amazing that they have done as well as they have for so long. They did really great in their 80’s and the 90’s have been more challenging. Dad is on a memory medication and it is supposed to slow it down, but he’s pretty bad with his memory. His long term memory is really good, but the short term is lacking. He can’t remember from one minute to the next what is happening. Mom has to take care of all their business now. We are trying to take as much off her as she wants to give up. I know it’s hard on her to be physically down and then to have to take care of dad too. He couldn’t live on his own if she wasn’t there.
He’s still been driving but I think the time has come to stop that too. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s part of life that we all face and deal with. We are new to dealing with all of this and we all learn as we go, don’t we? I’ve asked my friend, Vicki, for a lot of advice lately since she lost both her parents in the last 10 years or so. We don’t know what we don’t know until we get there and have to learn it for ourselves and that’s what our family is going through right now.
Mark and I planted tomatoes over there this year and they are doing great! That’s been a happy event of summer so far and we started picking tomatoes last week.
They are loaded with green tomatoes and finally starting to get ripe. We are all enjoying that for sure!
We aren’t sure where those little tomatoes came from, we didn’t plant a small variety like that. They don’t taste like cherry tomatoes, they have a full flavor of the big ones. No matter, we will eat them! We also ended up with a plant with yellow tomatoes and we didn’t know that either.
I’ve made Caprese salad a couple of times and I’m sure there will be more of this.
Renee and Lauren are coming home for a visit this weekend, so I’m looking forward to that too. It’s always good to have them home and with my sister moving away, it’s a little more challenging for sure.
My old house closed almost 2 weeks ago now and so that chapter in my book is complete. It was a lot of work to get it ready for the market, so that took some time and effort, but it was so nice to get it closed and finished. God blessed me so much with that house and I sold it way over asking price in this hot market! Mark and I went out to Henry’s, our local Cajun restaurant to celebrate the day it closed.
Miss Daisy turned 6 months old this week. She is a little doll and we love that gal. She’s so fun to wake up to every morning. We are still working on potty training, but she’s doing pretty well. Those small dogs are hard to train I hear and we are finding that to be true.
I finally got consistent on giving her a treat when she goes out and that has motivated her big time. The girl loves her meals and eating! I think she has reached her final weight and I’m not sure exactly what that is but I’d say 6 lbs or so. She’s still a little thing but has more than doubled from when we got her. It’s been fun having a new fur baby around the house. She is a bundle of energy and doesn’t let us forget she’s here. She enjoys playing hard and napping hard. We’re so lucky she goes to bed at 11 and sleeps all night until 8 or 8:30 every morning.
I thought you’d all enjoy a family update since it’s been awhile for that. Life is good, we are just getting into the hard stages of taking care of our parents. Mark’s mom is still living alone after his dad passed away last year and she’s doing fine. She wants to stay there for now, but I’m sure that might change in the future too. She’s 91 now, I think. I enjoy visiting with her, she’s a wonderful lady and mother-in-law.
We are very grateful for our health and our families. Life isn’t always easy but we just keep going, don’t we? God has been very gracious to my family and I’m grateful for that. I’ve got high cholesterol that I’m going to have to work on to get down. It’s been trending up the last 5 years or so and my doc wants me to go on meds, but I told him give me some time to try to get it down. I asked on my Instagram page and got lots of ideas so I’ll be implementing some of those. It’s not easy getting older either is it?! I haven’t had to worry about these things until the last few years. I have high blood pressure and now high cholesterol and I think it’s in the genes, but I’ll have to work harder at it now.
I hope you all are well! Thank you as always for coming by for a visit. I hope this peek into my family has been interesting for you. I can’t believe I’ve been writing this blog for almost 15 years, you all feel like you know me and my family! I’m planning to keep going, but eventually the posts may slow down a bit. I’m not sure I’ll keep up the fashion posts forever, we will see.
Thank you again for keeping up with me and coming by so often! I truly appreciate you all!
Thanks for the family update. I love hearing about your family. 😊 Dealing with aging parents is difficult that’s for sure. You are certainly blessed to have them both living into their 90s and I pray that continues. Dementia in a parent is not an easy thing – I know because we’re dealing with my mom and her dementia. We’ve had to set up power of attorney and take care of all her bills etc. As long as your mom is still doing OK and can handle that that’s good but a durable power of attorney is something you might need to consider soon. Thankfully we were able to get all the paperwork signed before my mom got too bad. She has good days and bad days – the bad days are really difficult for us. My oldest brother has basically moved in with her (our father passed away today in 2011) and I go there and work remote every other week (I live 4 hours away) to give him a break. We have a caregiver that comes two days a week that also gives us a break. We don’t want to put her in a home so are holding out as long as we can.
My prayers are with you and your parents as you deal with your moms back issues and your dads dementia. God is good all the time and gives us strength and comfort. 🙏🏻❤️
Gina, thanks so much! I love reading all of the comments you all are leaving, I know I’m not alone. We just did POA for my parents, so I’m it. Just did it this month, so I’m so glad we got that taken care of.
When I mention you and your ideas to my husband, I refer to you as Rhoda who has her Mark because I have mine! I was 15 when breast cancer killed my 35-year-old mother and 27 when a brain aneurysm killed my daddy, so I have no concepts of aging parents. I have decided that all circumstances require patience and faith, so I pray for your parents and all of you who love them. I enjoy and share your faith and politics. P.S. Wish I could share your tomatoes!
I’m sorry for all you are going through with your parents. It’s such a hard time for everyone. I’m a moderate and am also very concerned about the division in our country. I wish we could find some compromises that would be good for both political sides!
You and your family are certainly in my prayers. It is hard to watch your parents age and to have to assume the role of caretaker for the ones who took care of you for so many years. Having gone through dementia with my mother for six years, until she died right before COVID started at the age of 94–you summed it up perfectly—‘we don’t know what we don’t know until…’ . Your blog is my favorite and I love your life updates! Take care of yourself and Mark and your sweet parents.
I enjoyed the life update and can relate to some of your issues. My husband had dementia and it is a very cruel disease. There is no one fix and each patient is affected differently. He went through lots of stages and it was beyond stressful. Thankfully, he had a heart attack before he lost all of his mental capacities. It is so hard to deal with a different person. We had been married for over 45 years and so hurtful to see the change and nothing you can do but pray for added strength. Praying for you and your family. I do hope your mother’s back gets better. It is so hard for “doers” to give up.
Bobbie, you’re so right, it’s hard to see that person that you know is no longer there. Parts of him are, but definitely not everything. We know they can’t help it, but it’s still hard.
Rhoda, thanks for the up date on your parents, give them a big hug from me. As a 76 year old senior citizen, I am beginning to face some of the same challenges, believe me it is very difficult to accept that can not do all the things I use to do. I take steroid shots in my back, they do help ease some of the pain, but only seem to last 6 -9 months. Thanks to your readers for sharing helpful information, LM’s comments were interesting. Also, I am very concerned about the direction our county is headed. I am a conservative who prays for country and leaders. I know the Lord is in control, we have to keep our faith in Him. Your parents are fortunate to have a loving, caring dau. to assist them, glad you found someone to help them because you can not do everything, it can become physically and emotionally draining. Remember you blog is interesting to read, but like today it is educational for your followers. Have a good summer, don’t forget to take time for yourself.
Enjoy watching you and reading your blogs! I love your family dynamic with your parents! They are so special to you! I also have had to deal with dementia with my mom and June had to move her to assisted living! She is still adjusting! Hard to deal with the changes all that brings! She will be 80 in August! Love seeing your flowers and all your home improvements, also praying that this country can turn around somehow! Prayer is all we can do! I will keep prayers for your mom and dad! Cherish these times! It goes so fast!👍🙏🥰
Rhoda,
Thank you for the update. And thank you for being so open and honest. Life is challenging isn’t it? I think “we all have something”. Your family is a joy to me, even if it’s through a blog!
Thank you for continuing to share with all of us…. I literally started following your blog when you lived in Alabama…. Funny the things we do remember… I remember how I heard about your blog ; I was following The Lettered Cottage and they were headed your way for a huge yard sale!! lololol… so funny that I thought of that!!! Im a bit older than you and I totally get your feelings about your parents… when you see decline it’s so very hard ! Especially when they have always been hard working and active…. Hope you enjoy your visit with your sister and neice this weekend !! Thank you again Rhoda for continuing to blog!!
Thank you Terri, oh that brings back great memories, with Layla and Kevin. I haven’t talked to them in ages, but I think they are doing well. Life goes on!
I love your blog and all your family updates. I relate to you in so ways as your values are the same as mine and your parents remind me so much of mine, who are no longer with us!
I too have been a follower of your blog since you lived in Alabama. Thank you for continuing to share and praying for our country.
Happy birthday to your dad! Thank you for your Christian example during this time in our country.
Rhoda I know how hard it is taking care of our aging parents. I lost my Mom in February. You are exactly right when you said you learn as you go. I always had to remind myself to just look at the moment/day or else I would find myself getting so overwhelmed!! It definitely increased my closeness to God and my prayer life. On your cholesterol sometimes you just can’t control the effects of genetics but you are smart to try yourself to get it down. There are many statins and if first one doesn’t work out because of side effects you can move on to the next one. Keeping you in my prayers.
My Mom just turned 93 on July 3rd and my Dad passed about 30 years ago. My Mom lives with myself and my husband and thank God she is doing well. Love you family and thank you for your updates….Will keep you and your family in my prayers.
I agree with you, there is so much turmoil and conflict in our country right now. I keep praying that I can just be kind to everyone no matter the situation. My mama taught me that you never go wrong with nice manners! Best thing is that God is control, even if we dont always see Him moving. Saying a prayer for y’all and your parents. I lost both of mine in their 90s and it is so important but also at times challenging to make sure they are taken care of. Please be sure to take good care of yourself first. If you are healthy, you are better able to help them. Hope you are having a blessed day….and Miss Daisy is too precious! That face!
I have compression fractures from osteoporosis to I know exactly how your mom feels and it started for me early sixties. I suspected your mom had osteoporosis. May I share that she shouldn’t sit in a chair/sofa with her feet dangling…..that aggravates the spine. Standing for other than short periods is painful and not good. I don’t know how she can tolerate any cooking or any type of housework….it is not her friend. Life is always about changes; some not so wonderful but I say make the best of each day. Your fashion posts are fun but don’t feel you have to make them…..maybe at the beginning of a new season. And remember it is better to be pro-active in all the decisions facing you rather than regret later. Good Luck.
I absolutely adore your parents and really enjoy them when you show them. Praying for them and your family as you navigate this new phase of life.
Happy happy Birthday to your dad.
This stage of life is so very difficult as a child watching their parents struggle. I enjoy watching your visits with your parents and the love that is shown. They are such sweethearts.
I’m so sorry to hear your dad has dementia. I missed that somehow. My mom suffered Alzheimer’s for several years before she passed 7 yrs. ago. My dad passed at age 69 from heart attack in 1991 and I still miss him so. I love seeing your interactions with your parents–they are such wonderful people.