Hi HG. Today was my first day off in 7 days straight and oh my gosh, so needed! I got things accomplished in my own house, which has been neglected. Although I did ask to be taken off the case of the blind man and his wife, they don't have another case to send me to, and I can't live on just the 8 hours I work with my other case on the weekends, so for the time being, I'm staying with the couple too. I actually made it out of their house at 8:20 pm on Monday, so I'm hopeful that I am finally getting through to her that she will be charged if she keeps giving me tasks to do and I have to stay past my shift. It's still the hardest job I've ever had (and it doesn't help that my anemia is back and it saps my energy really bad)....but I am finally starting to see their house getting cleaner, slowly but surely. My supervisor will keep looking for a new case for me, but for now, I'm staying with this couple.
Oh one other thing...on Sunday, after work, I gave my neighbor carte blanche to cut my hair. I've had it long almost my whole life, but since working with these older people, and being in Florida, I was just dying from the heat in their houses. My neighbor has been after me for 9 years to let her cut my hair short, but I always just let her take an inch off. When I said, "you have carte blanche," she said, "wait a minute, I have to sit down." LOL
While she was snipping away, I asked her exactly how much she was cutting off. She said, "shut up, I have carte blanche." Ummm....she sure did chop it off. I said I look like Peter Pan!!!
But wow, what a difference at work on Monday! My scalp didn't start sweating down my face and neck. I'll be fine as soon as I play around with it more and see how to style it. I bought some gel today (buy one, get 1 free) at Walgreen's, so hopefully, I'll be able to figure out what to do with it.
:-)
Oh and HG....I'm so happy that you got to go out and just have some fun. That is great! :-)
I swear, it's something that everyone really needs to do, just to get away for a while and focus on themselves for just a little while. For your own mental health, I think it is a must-do.
I hope you get to do it more now.
I hope so too. Thanks for writing - I am sure that you will be okay with the blind guy and his wife. I couldn't do what you do...in someone else's house - that was dirty. ICK! My house is cluttered but clean.
My cousin and her husband stopped for the night yesterday so we all went out to eat and had a nice evening and morning of visiting. Of course, I had to scurry around and TRY to get a lot of things picked up and cleaned up before they got here.
This morning as they were leaving a small puppy and kitty appeared and, because we didn't want them to get hit, I put the puppy in the back yard. The kitty had run down the street and watched from a distance. Pretty soon, here came 2 more little puppies and the kitty came again with them. One little puppy wouldn't get close and ran back towards an RV park a short distance from us, so, I picked up the kitty and puppy and put them in the back yard with the other puppy. When I went out later to take PIX, I think one of the puppies found a way out as only 1 puppy and the kitty came. I took OUR little Chi out to potty on leash and she is NOT happy about the visitors. I went to the RV park and told them about them and called animal control in case someone calls there about their lost animals. I also have a friend who has a Pet Patrol so she'll circulate pix
Just what I need, MORE things to take care of!!!...but they sure are cute!!!
Hi, I have been off line for a while. My husband was released from rehab in February and we have had a parade of doctor appts and VNA. He has amazed everyone with his determination to get well.
His pulmonary doctor has him on 10 days on, 20 days off regime of two different antibiotics. This has been working and we have been able to do limited travel to visit family. Unfortunately he seems to be having a relapse so we are waiting and hoping for the best.
The best thing about traveling was finally being able to meet my great-nephew, join with family at a Bar Mitzvah (over the top!!). Nothing heals like loving family and friends, good food, good drinks and lots of laughter. Not enough laughter when dealing with serious illness but I am better able to get things done now that I have gotten some giggles in my life.
Hi to all,
It's been 2 months since my mom passed and I miss her. It's kinda strange because I am so relieved for her not to have to go thru all the pain and confusion but I have these little guilt feelings for feeling this way. I'll think about something trivial and get upset, like her wanting to sing when we were watching tv and me telling her to hush, or sitting her at the table by herself because she spit chewed food out. That was before we knew she has Dyphasia and couldn't swallow.........just little things. Our backyard flowers are blooming and she loved to sit out there and looknat them.........gotta go...........Phyllis
I'm still here. I did get to go to church Sunday and on to Tucson and had a nice day. The old sciatica is giving me twinges and I'm telling it no, it can't slip out on me. I have to be able to take care of Gary's legs. That requires bending over.
LKeeperDeb, I'd like to see the new hair do. You'll enjoy it, I promise. :-)
pkpurs, try not to feel so guilty. It's hard when they do crude or unseemly stuff. We all feel that way sometime or another. You did the best you could. Nothing to feel guilty about.
Phyllis - last year I went through a guilt phase that I wrote about. I found the message and brought it forward. I think we all feel guilt but it is more about being helpless in an awful situation.
Deb - you have your own health issues that should make you find a position that is not so difficult. If you were working for me - you would not have to do half of what you do for these people. They are tough and probably run off a lot of people but you shouldn't have to kill yourself for these two people.
I also think that Visiting Angels must be getting paid for both of them and if so maybe they feel you should work like a rented mule because they are paying double. I would find out if they are paying for one person or two.
Deb: I'm not sure I have read all the posts that relate to your situation so if someone has already offered this advice, I apologize. I thnk your old couple need a little help in realistic planning. What I would do is: when she gives you a huge list of tasks that need to be done, you should let her know that they won't all fit into the allotted time--and then ask her to prioritize them. Obviously what they really need is a full time helper but that hasn't been provided for and isn't your responsibility. Ask her if she would rather you catch up on the dirty dishes or go to the store. If she wants you to shop, tell her you only have time to visit one store so which would she prefer. I know you don't want to walk out in the middle of a task, but if she understands that there really is a time limit, perhaps planning the tasks would make your departure less traumatic. I don't suppose there is anyone you can speak to about getting them more time?
Thanks everyone for such good advice. Flicka....they pay out of pocket for this service, their Medicare doesn't cover it, so she examines my time sheet like it's the Holy Grail. LOL
I did tell her that I don't mind staying 10-15 minutes past my shift when it's necessary, but if it gets to 1/2 hour and more, I will be putting that down on my time sheet.
I told you all how crafty she is? Well, she gave me a list of stuff to pick up for her today before work. I got in my car, wrote down my mileage and I am getting the mileage for both trips to the store. What ticks me off is that I can't really write down that 1/2 hour because I'm not due to start until 4:00 pm.
But I'm learning a lot from this experience with her. I am not going to let her keep taking advantage of me. And today when I get there, I'm going to ask to see her "List of Chores" and I'll tell her what I will do in the time I have.
