Mama and I had lunch at the French Market Grille today. Afterward, I took her home which gave me an opportunity to check the house and especially her refrigerator. The 1/2 gallon of milk was sour and there was very little edible food in the fridge.
This is what put my mother in a bad fix last spring. She did not realize that her food was going bad nor had any comprehension of what she had to eat. Now, when she goes to the grocery store, we help her with ideas to make meals easy and requiring little thought.
When my kids were younger, mama would stay at our house to babysit while Robert and I took trips away together. Every time we came back home mama would have something perfect waiting for us. Beef stew, spaghetti, ham salad, whatever she made was always welcome. She knew we would be worn out from traveling and made sure we had a meal and all the basics ready for our return.
Our roles are completely reversed. Now I am in charge of making sure there is always something to eat in her refrigerator. Although we do have a paid caregiver, it is my responsibility to oversee my mother’s care. Instead of criticizing Miss Polly, I’ll create a checklist for mama’s grocery needs. My hope is that if you are caring for an aging loved one, you’ll check things out wherever they are living to make sure they have the things they need. My mother fooled me for the longest time with her words, but what I actually saw was completely different. In her mind every thing is fine, but the reality may be different.
PS> Please share this with your Facebook, Twitter and Google + friends. There are so many things I wish I’d known as my mother really started to age.
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