It’s been a long day. Today was the 80th birthday for my grandmother, and my mom and aunt hosted a party for Gram. The party doubled as a 60th wedding anniversary for my grandparents as well.
The drive down went pretty swimmingly. We took my car because it has angled headrests. Dad drove. I sat behind Mom and flipped the suction device on and off when she needed it.
The ALSA provided a tilting wheelchair for mom to use at the party. Mom used it when she was in my grandparents’ apartment, but we never really were able to get the headrest adjusted to Mom’s satisfaction. That was frustrating. So at the party itself, she used her brace.
This was also the first time in 4½ years that my entire immediate family was in one place. Dan cam and brought Brenda and Victor. Elaine and Brian came. Joe and Sara came. As Sara put it while watching mom walk around with Victor, Your mom is stupid happy to see him.
Drive back was tougher. Mom was worn out. Her ibuprofen wore off, so we had to stop on the way to give her something stronger. Also, the piece of cloth holding her head in place to the headrest kept slipping off. And a muscle in my back cramped up something fierce. But we made it back.
I have about 8 pounds of food left over from catering. Two bags of salmon. One of chicken. One of potatoes. Two of a broccoli salad. Dad has a few bags too. And so does my cousin. They planned for the right amount of people, but it was mostly old folks who ate like birds.
Now, I finish my book and sleep.