Not So Fast, Grandma Said

One of the traits I like least about myself is my passive-aggressivity. I try to be more direct with people, but somehow I always revert to the default of friendly agreeability with an underlying stubborness. Ain't no one, without a gun, going to get me to do what I don't want, although they'll think they did...

Well, I inherited this trait from my mother, the MISTRESS of P/A. And, as usual, she's beaten the entire family out of doing something we know is for her own good: moving her to an assisted living facility.

After a fall and her new immobility, she set out a truly hellish time for us, as this happened just as we were moving the Ds to college and grad school apartments.

We toured a lovely facility, the Miami Jewish Home, and had her assessed last week. She passed, although I think that passing an assesment for an ALF is not something one aspires to...

Sunny resisted, nicely. And resisted. With little comments about how she still has friends where she lives, she's so happy there, she's really still independent, etc...

She wore us down. I had an appointment today with Wifey to pick out her apartment at MJH. She called me Saturday, asking nicely for me to drive to Delray to talk about it. My sister came, too.

We told her she could stay. She clasped her hands, looked skyward, and thanked God. She had won, as usual...

So, against our better judgment, we're increasing the hours her aide spends with her, and my sister and I are going to alternate weekly visits.

The aide is leaving for a two week vacation, so last night we asked my California sister to come and spell us for that time. She agreed...

The upside of all this is that my sisters and I , heavy with issues about the care of the 90 year old, are finally coming together as a team, on the same page.

As I told Wifey last night, all of a sudden we're the Waltons, circling the wagons to help Grandma. I'm most gratified about that...

So, after a family tempest that upset all of us, the old lady is going to stay in her little cave, the one she's lived in for 31 years.

I've heard than a blind, old dog can get along fine after its sight is gone, as long as its in familiar surroundings... I hope we have the same thing here.

Sister, Grandma and I toasted with coffee mugs at the Gramercy Deli, the go to breakfast and lunch place right near Grandma's condo.

The other shoe dropped, but somehow the old lady picked it right back up again.