The last time that I wrote was shortly after my father died. That was in October, and so much has happened since then. As many of you know losing a parent or a close loved one is very hard and takes a long time to process. This Father's Day will be difficult as it is our first without Dad. Losing my father left a huge hole in my mother's life, and left her in a big old house that was too much for her to take care of on her own. After several months of deep depression and determination to stay in her big house, she finally moved into an apartment in a great retirement community. Needless to say her children were happy, we didn't have to be continually worried about her safety, and now she has a view from her 15th floor apartment. I took this picture from her terrace one foggy evening.
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My 90 year old mother is now starting her life over in a new living situation without her lifelong friend of over 68 years. She is making some new friends and is learning how to play card games such as "Hand and Foot." If you have ever played this game you know how many steps it takes and all the score keeping involved. She is taking exercise classes, goes on walks with friends, attends plays and goes on field trips. She still has a lot of contact with family and constant calls. I call her "Miss Popularity."
She can afford to live in a nice community because she and my father lived very frugally. I came to realize just how frugally after my father died and we had to clean out the house.
Dad made his own tools and had one for every job. These are some examples that we found in the car port. The major repairs that the house needed got attended to, but loose sockets were duct taped and the plug got supported like this. There were so many examples like this. Mom would get many new things as presents, but she would use old ones until they were completely worn out. They were "children of the Depression." They knew the value of a dollar and they saved their money.
Please don't think for a minute that I am making fun of my parents, I love them dearly, and I marvel at their strength.
I have continued to work on my felting, making some vintage style hats and flowers to go on them. I am a co-op member in a gallery now, but I still have to get my artist page written up. I am the second newest member. This is new and exciting for me. I hope to do a better job of posting now, and I hope to hear form some of my dear friends out there. Love and hugs to you, Cameron
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My 90 year old mother is now starting her life over in a new living situation without her lifelong friend of over 68 years. She is making some new friends and is learning how to play card games such as "Hand and Foot." If you have ever played this game you know how many steps it takes and all the score keeping involved. She is taking exercise classes, goes on walks with friends, attends plays and goes on field trips. She still has a lot of contact with family and constant calls. I call her "Miss Popularity."
She can afford to live in a nice community because she and my father lived very frugally. I came to realize just how frugally after my father died and we had to clean out the house.
Please don't think for a minute that I am making fun of my parents, I love them dearly, and I marvel at their strength.
I have continued to work on my felting, making some vintage style hats and flowers to go on them. I am a co-op member in a gallery now, but I still have to get my artist page written up. I am the second newest member. This is new and exciting for me. I hope to do a better job of posting now, and I hope to hear form some of my dear friends out there. Love and hugs to you, Cameron
