A New Normal

Our new neighbor’s mail is on the counter… dad’s glasses are lost… the milk was put in the freezer… and the ice cream is under the sink. It takes all of us to help set things right. This is life with my parents in the same house as us! We are finally moved in. Praise God!

My mom apparently hit her head. “Hard on a dresser,” she casually says over breakfast. She refuses to see a doctor or go to the hospital, so I’m watching her closely -all day. I can’t see much change, nothing seems out of the ordinary. She’s generally out-of-sorts with me for moving her.

I shudder to think of all that went on when I was not with them. Some things we learned from their neighbors. A few were kind and understanding, others frustrated and disgruntled. I can see now, why. My dad collected garbage cans in his back yard, sometimes mail and other things he just found interesting in an open garages! He enjoyed piling sticks at the top of one neighbor’s driveway… like a “beaver dam.”

Now, mom often rings the bell for me to come and tells something like, “I don’t like these crackers” or “the sheets can be changed,” (not because they are dirty). My dad says all day long, “what should I be doing?” and “can you fix the tv?” or “why is she so upset?” -meaning my mom.

I sat at my sewing table, finishing up some quilts for a needed break. Out of the window I saw them walking down to the small lake behind this house. Hand in hand, safely in our sights. I jumped up and ran to the family room. “Quick kids, come look – This is why we are doing all this- this is why we moved them here.”

I know it’s not easy for anyone. I know we have a lot to learn. I want the kids to see how important it is to me to have my parents safe – to help them when needed, yet allow them some freedom. It’s definitely a new normal for us all.

God be our Strength and our Guide.

ForGlorySake! –Anna