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The last thing i wanted to do was use the trite phrase "this ain't my first rodeo," so of course something happened that can only be described that way, and it is uppermost in my mind.
Yesterday after finishing at Ms. G's house, i went to see Ms. S as i do several times a week, stopping on the way to buy her some items she'd asked for, and by the time i got there it was mid-afternoon.
As has happened too many times (see the trite phrase above), i walked in to find her on the floor; she said she'd been there an hour, and that she was going to be able to get up, she was almost there, but that the bug man and his mother had come by, and she kept asking who was at the door (no one was there).
This time, she was so weak and so out of it, i wasn't able to get her up, and over her objections i went to the front desk and got help; she's so terrified that her son will find out she fell again and put her "in the place with the old people who don't have their minds any more" that she will not use her call button to summon help and gets upset with me if i do.
She told me she's ready to go, told me it's time, and when i finally got her to calm down and eat for the first time that day, i had to feed her part of her meal, she couldn't see where the food was on the plate.
It's not the first time i've helped care for someone toward the end, but it never gets any easier, the horses buck the same every single time, and it breaks my heart.
Linking up with Denise at Girlie On The Edge Blog, where she hosts Six Sentence Stories, and the cue is Rodeo.
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Gosia at Looking for Identity has taken over Good Fences, and it's now Good Fences Around The World. Post a picture of a fence or gate, link back to her blog, and go visit other blogs to see what interesting fences there are out in this big world.
A couple of fence photos from during the recent freeze:
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It's Angel Sammy's Poetry Day! This week's image and my poem:
Time for a quiet
Day in the sun?
Sorry this isn't
My idea of fun.
An extrovert paradise
Is introvert's pain,
If this is the schedule,
Let's hope for rain!
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Brian of Brian's Home hosts the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop. It's time to share something for which i am thankful.
Today i am thankful for the muscle relaxer the doctor gave me to take when needed, yesterday was a very hard-on-the-back day.
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Today is:
Dance of the Secret Places -- Fairy Calendar
Dag van de Revolutie -- Suriname (Day of Liberation and Innovation)
Februaristaking -- Netherlands (commemoration of a strike against the Nazis)
Festival of Ptah -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)
Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day -- some student programs at universities are set for this weekend, as encouraged during National Engineers Week
Kitano Baika-sai (Plum Blossom Festival) -- Kitano Tenman-gu Shrine, Kyoto, Japan
Lesser Eleusinian Mysteries -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate)
Let's All Eat Right Day -- in honor of the birth of Adelle Davis in 1904, an early pioneer in good nutrition
National Chocolate Covered Peanuts Day -- some sites say any nuts will do, some specify peanuts; take your pick
National Clam Chowder Day -- not to be confused with New England Clam Chowder Day, back in January
National Day -- Kuwait
People's Revolution Day/People Power Day -- Philippines
Pistol Patent Day -- Samuel Colt received US Patent #138 for the first pistol on this day in 1836
Purim -- Judaism (begins at sundown)
Quiet Day -- can't find the history behind this one, but mommy wants one!
St. Walburga's Day (Patron of boatmen/mariners/sailors/watermen, harvests; Antwerp, Belgium; Eichstätt, Germany; Gronigen, Netherlands; Oudenarde, Belgium; Plymouth, England; Zutphen, Netherlands; against coughs, dog bites, famine, hydrophobia/rabies, mad dogs, plague, storms)
Soviet Occupation Day -- Georgia
Birthdays Today:
Josh Wolff, 1977
Chelsea Handler,1975
Sean Astin, 1971
Tea Leoni, 1966
Carrot Top, 1965
Lee Evans, 1964
Neil Jrdan, 1950
Ric Flair, 1949
Karen Grassle, 1944
George Harrison, 1943
Diane Baker, 1938
Tom Courtenay, 1937
Bob Schieffer, 1937
Sally Jessy Raphael, 1935
"Texas Rose" Bascom, 1922
Bobby Riggs, 1918
Anthony Burgess, 1917
Jim Backus, 1913
Millicent Hammond Fenwick, 1910
Adelle Davis, 1904
Zeppo Marx, 1901
Meher Baba, 1894
Enrico Caruso, 1873
Charles Lang Freer, 1856
Pierre Auguste Renoir, 1841
Xuande, Emperor of China, 1398
Debuting/Premiering Today:
"A Little Night Music"(Musical), 1973
"Toys in the Attic"(Play), 1960
"Wonderful Town"(Musical), 1953
"Your Show of Shows"(TV), 1950
"Natoma"(Herbert Opera), 1911
"Riders to the Sea"(Play), 1904
"Hernani"(Victor Hugo Play), 1830
Today in History:
The First Bank of the United States is chartered, 1791
The German Midiatisation is enacted, taking over 1,000 German sovereign states into about 40 larger entities, 1803
Samuel Colt patents the first revolving barrel multishot firearm, 1836
The first US electric printing press is patented by Thomas Davenport, 1837
Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, is sworn into the United States Senate, becoming the first African American ever to sit in the U.S. Congress, 1870
The US Steel Corp. is organized under J P Morgan, 1901
The Stanley Cup: Ottawa Silver 7 sweep Toronto Marlboroughs in 2 games, 1904
Marie-Adélaïde, the eldest of six daughters of Guillaume IV, becomes the first reigning Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, 1912
Oregon places a 1 cent per U.S. gallon tax on gasoline, becoming the first U.S. state to levy a gasoline tax, 1919
Diplomatic relations between Japan and the Soviet Union are established, 1925
Glacier Bay National Monument (now Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve) is established in Alaska, 1925
Francisco Franco becomes General of Spain, 1926
Charles Jenkins Laboratories of Washington, D.C. becomes the first holder of a television license from the Federal Radio Commission, 1928
The USS Ranger is launched. It is the first US Navy ship to be built solely as an aircraft carrier, 1933
In occupied Amsterdam, a general strike is declared in response to increasing anti-Jewish measures instituted by the Nazis, 1941
The first Pan American Games are held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1951
Cassius Clay defeats Sonny Liston, 1964
The first unit of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, the first commercial nuclear power station in Canada, goes online, 1971
President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines flees the nation after 20 years of rule; Corazon Aquino becomes the first Filipino woman president, 1986
In the Cave of the Patriarchs in the West Bank city of Hebron, Baruch Goldstein opens fire with an automatic rifle, killing 29 Palestinian worshippers and injuring 125 more, 1994
In the Irish general election, the Fianna Fáil-led government suffered the worst defeat of a sitting government since the formation of the Irish state, 2011
The World Health Organization removes India from the list of polio endemic countries, 2012
Hundreds of pro-Russian protesters block the Crimean parliament and demand a referendum on Crimea's independence, 2014
The XXIII Winter Olympic Games close in Pyeongchang, Korea; Norway wins a record 39 medals, 14 gold, 2018
The influential film review site Rotten Tomatoes implements changes to the site after internet trolls target the new Captain Marvelfilm, 2019
Frozen Fences. The title alone is potry, and the photos back the poetry up. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry for your rodeo. I'm all for letting people decide where to go, but when they hurt others in the doing, it's not OK any longer.
A poignant piece. Good six!
ReplyDeleteHugs. And thank you for your care of Ms S. And of everyone else as well.
ReplyDeleteThank God you were there to help Ms. S and others who needed help. It is sad when one gets old and feel so helpless. Have a wonderful weekend.
ReplyDeleteFence photos are back.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Your six sentence story just about broke my heart too, it's so sad to be helping someone so near to the end.
ReplyDeleteIt is heartbreaking, and hard... but so important to do.
ReplyDeleteI'm sighing along with you.
I commend Ms. S, in right mind or not, insisting she would be able to get up. Intent begins in one's mind. Sadly for some, it ends there as well. Ms. S is fortunate to have you.
ReplyDeleteLove your poetry, always. I for one will lead the dance (rain), lol
May your back be better!
It is so hard to watch people slowly failing. You are wonderful to help Ms S as much as you can. We know she appreciates it even if it may not feel like she does. You are such a caring person.
ReplyDeleteSad story...touching but sad.
ReplyDeletebut you make it look easy. good six, good fence, good use of the cue and dance of the secret places...now that's intriguing.
ReplyDeleteThat's very sad for Ms. S. That was a cute poem and a very good and useful thankful too. Thanks for joining our Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!
ReplyDeleteMs. S was lucky you came by. We loved your poem!
ReplyDeleteThe Florida Furkids
That is a sad story about Ms. S but how lucky she was to have you rescue her.....I think her thoughts are upper most in SO MANY people in her situation. As for your poem this week - PERFECTION as always. I particularly love the "extrovert/introvert" reference - VERY apt!
ReplyDeleteHugs, Pam
Such a sad story, but no way around it as it is part of life. Great poem, I am an introvert too and compared a crowded beach to hell.
ReplyDeleteIt's so sad to see folks fail. I understand her not wanting to be in a home. That will surely do her in. She's in my prayers.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on that beach. I'll pass.
I'm glad you have some relief for your back.
You're such a jewel.
Have a pain free Thankful Thursday, my friend. Big hug. ♥
This reminds me of the time I found my neighbor laying on the end of her driveway. All she could say, over and over again was, "Don't tell my kids. Please. Please. Don't tell my kids." I haven't spoken to her kids, but I'm sure it didn't take long for them to learn about their mother's condition all by themselves.
ReplyDeleteLong ago I worked in a Nursing Home, loved it, but it broke my heart too many times and I moved on to another path. Bless you and all the Superheroes out there who stay with it and make a difference.
ReplyDeleteYour 6 sentence story hit close to home, thanks for writing it! I loved your poetry, it cheered me up! And the fences -we sure have a ton of frozen ones around here! Have a marvellously happy day!
ReplyDeleteThat is some icy tree and if you excuse us it IS our first Rodeo. MOL
ReplyDeleteIt is never easy with finding a person on 'their last legs' ~ You are blessing to your clients ~ grateful for you ~
ReplyDeleteAnd what lovely wintry photos ~
Living moment by moment,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
damn!*
ReplyDelete* a statement of commiseration for what you went through**
** we would have been happy with a simple and trite Six at less personal cost
I love each thing you have posted. Your talent is something else. You work so hard, you write beautifully. your funny and no matter what you post, it is always so terrific. Hoping your weekend willbe a great one. Wishing we could all join Sandee and Zane on their boat. A nice break from the weary old world here. Take care and thanks for all you do.
ReplyDeleteA powerful, sad and true Six. I've worked in care most my life and will never quite get used to moments like that. Heartbreaking too when they apologise for their deterioration.
ReplyDeleteKeep safe and well, and keep up the excellent work!
You are such a blessing.
ReplyDelete