Sunday, September 11, 2016

It's slow going

This has been the scene in the living room for almost a week now.  In preparation for our move to San Antonio I have asked He-Who-Sleeps-Alot to go through stacks of papers that we moved here two years ago and have not been touched since placed on a book shelf.  It is very slow going and I'm in a quandry.  He is going through and reading them all and enjoying the memories or is he?  I can't tell.  I can only tell that so far very little is being thrown away.  Many of these pages are duplicates.  Do I just go in and pitch them while he is sleeping?  In prep for the move here my son helped quite a bit and found our marriage certificate in one of the piles.????  What was that about?

The community in San Antonio or at least our part of it now will not be ready until the end of November.  I refuse to get worried about it as there is nothing I can do but wait.  We are going back on September 27 for another gathering of the future residents.  I so want us to get connected with some folk before we move in and we enjoyed the last gathering.  The group looks much more active than what we have experienced here.  At each visit I hope to get a better picture of what life will be like and what activities will be available.

I am so going to miss my poetry community here.  Yesterday the Gulf Coast Poets hosted Mutabilis Press and their most recent anthology, Untamed City, for a reading.  I was one of 12 reading and it was such fun being back with my tribe.  I had a reconnect with a dear fellow poet who lost her husband a year ago to dementia.  Once a caregiver I think it creates a special bond with others who have had or are having similar experiences.  Geez, it's everywhere!  Hardly a family that hasn't been touched in some way by dementia of some form, Alzheimer's or Lewy Body.

We have been meeting He-Who's twin brother and wife for fish tacos every Sunday night for several weeks now and He-Who so enjoys getting out.  Beginning this week his brother will take him again to a class at the Women's Institute on the current political scene, a continuation of the class in the spring and summer.  He-Who really enjoys going even if he can't remember what was discussed.  I am so grateful for this.
I constantly try to remind myself to be grateful for our moments of clarity and for all the support.  We celebrated 58 years of marriage last Monday...many moments to treasure.