Florida October 2014

Dear Reid and Claire,

I've found a substitute for shock treatment–fly to Florida in October. On a 48° rainy day, I wore long pants, long sleeves, and fleece jacket for the ride past golden-yellow leaves to the Pittsburgh airport. Unfortunately, I also wore my sun hat because it won't fit in my carry on bag. Looking like a dork, I boarded the plane, patted Spence's leg, and read Writers Digest. The sky got brighter and brighter till it was pure azure. The plane descended, and palm trees appeared. Outside the airport, the sunny 85° had me adjusting air conditioning controls in our rented black Mazda SUV. Mom's house was 79° inside. I slept in a short nightgown without a sheet. Outside, the breeze from the Gulf was delightful but knocked off the sun hat. Coming back was another adjustment. I dressed in long pants and long sleeves but stuffed the jacket in Spence's carry on bag. I still had to wear the hat. At Wells Wood, temperatures were 48° outside and 67° inside. Spence build a fire, and I put on a sweatshirt.

Love,

Janet

Dear Barb,

Mom and my brother Bob welcomed Spence and me to their home in Bradenton. Lucy, their black lab, barked and growled. Bob held my hand to show her I was a friend. More growls. I got a milk bone, sat on the floor, and held the treat out to her. She backed under a table. I talked in my cat-calming voice and continued holding the milk bone. She sniffed the treat then retreated farther under the table. To let her have some space, I went to another room. For the rest of the afternoon, she barked every time she saw me. At dinner, though, she quietly lay on the floor by Bob's feet–four feet from me. Progress. I watched the first World Series game with Bob and Mom. Lucy walked to my chair and sniffed my hands. I rubber her ears. She wagged her tail. At the start of the fourth inning, I changed to my nightgown. Lucy sniffed under my gown then licked my bare toes. We were friends. After that she licked my toes every chance she got. In return, I rubbed her ears and shared my the space I practiced yoga on the porch floor.

Love,

Janet

Dear Janet,

Because I practice yoga in the morning to keep my body flexible despite arthritis, I packed Rodney Yee's Yoga for Beginners DVD for my trip to visit Mom and my brother Bob in Bradenton. Most of their house is wood or tile floors but the guest room had a rug. They said I could exercise there or on the screened-in back porch if I preferred. I did. I'd always wanted to do yoga outside. Since I hadn't packed my yoga mat, I lay Mom's bathmat and Bob's beach towel on the cement floor. Wearing shorts and my hair in a high pony tail, I listened to Rodney's instructions and gazed out at ducks floating- diving in a pond. Geckos and toads climbed the screen. White pelicans flew over palms, tropical birds called, and the Gulf breeze soothed my skin. I stretched, relaxed, and breathed. Lucy, Mom and Bob's black lab, visited me for part of each morning session. The day she hogged most of the beach towel, I still managed the standing poses, but Bob took her inside when I needed to lie down for cobra pose.

Love,

Janet

Dear Nancy,

When Spence and I visited Mom and Bob in Florida, Budget didn't have the Taurus we ordered. We settled for an SUV, but I told Spence he had to drive. The substitution turned out helpful for taking Mom shopping. We helped her into the middle seat and stowed her wheelchair in the back. First stop was Walgreens for a flu shot. After filling out medical forms, I found her a Sudoku book to entertain her for the short wait. The shot accomplished, we headed to Bealls. As I pushed Mom's wheelchair toward the entrance, she gasped, “Ooooh!” I thought she was hurting, but she added, “I haven't been in a store in a long time.” We indulged ourselves with a girls shop–admiring baby clothes and table settings on our way to men's sweaters and women's lingerie. I fetched Spence, who had stayed outside to make calls for his volunteer job, to try on a jacket so Mom could judge the size. She selected gifts for Bob and undershirts for herself. Then we viewed Christmas decorations including white lights on palm trees and flamingos in Santa hats.

Love,

Janet

Dear Joe,

On a mid 80°, sunny morning, Spence and I took Mom to the beach on Anna Maria Island. We pushed her wheelchair through the parking lot and across the pancake restaurant terrace. Then she held my arm and walked sixty feet across the sand. Spence muscled the empty chair. Mom picked a sunny spot just beyond shade trees. Because of the wind, she tied a headscarf under her chin and draped a sweater over her shoulders. She soaked in the sun, and we walked. Terns scampered in the surf. Gulls stepped aside when folks approached. I waded–waves crashed against my shins. Spence stayed above the water line and looked back to check Mom. He saw a man talking to her so we walked back to check. Mom said she'd had three visitors. A gentleman with an English accent offered to take her closer to the water. Two women just stopped to chat. Mom concluded the sun felt good, people were friendly, and she didn't need the sweater. A couple times on her walk back across the sand, Mom rested in the wheelchair. I admired her fortitude.

Love,

Janet

Dear Lori and Ellie,

Visiting Mom in Florida brought a change in flora and fauna for Spence and me. A flock of ducks swam in the shallow pond in Mom's backyard. They reared back and fluttered their wings then dove under water and wiggled their tails. Geckos and toads, with round balls at the end of their toes, climbed straight up screens and walls. At the corner of Mom's street, a Great Blue Heron and a Great White Heron long stepped around a bigger pond. On the beach, gulls screeched overhead, dove for fish, and stood on one leg in the sand. Terns rushed in and out with the surf and pecked at tasty bits that floated past. I found a starfish on the wet sand but tossed it back in the water in case it might be alive. Palm trees looked deep green against clear blue skies. We drove past bushes with blue flowers. Spence planted red pentas under Mom's bottlebrush tree. The biggest change, though, was her black lab Lucy. Lucy and I became ear- rubbing, toe-licking friends. When I got back to our fat cat George in Pennsylvania, he looked tiny in comparison.

Love,

Janet

Dear Jim and Julie,

Spence and I'd had a lovely visit with Mom and Bob. On our last afternoon (Oct. 23), Mom and I watched Judge Judy. Then she headed to the bathroom to get ready for the chicken divan dinner Spence was preparing. I heard her shout. She'd fallen and fractured her hip. After spending the evening in the emergency room, Mom was transferred to a fourth floor hospital room. The next morning, she had surgery. The doctor made a small incision and inserted a screw in her hip. Sitting in the surgery waiting room with Bob and Spence, I watched the clock. Spence and I had to leave for the airport by 1:00. I was hoping Mom would wake up from the anesthetic so we could see her before we left. At 12:40, the volunteer told us to go up to her room–Mom was leaving recovery. We got their seconds before Mom arrived. She said, “I was hoping I'd get to see you before you had to leave.” We had fifteen minutes together. She was transferred to Bradenton Health Care for rehabilitation. She's determined to get stronger so she can go home.

Love,

Janet