# Already-overdue status update, 220923: a quiet morning before a busy day

Things have settled down somewhat, and I'm down to only three or four flaming
weasels still in the air.  In part, waiting for various things to complete.
In fact, despite the frenetic pace of this adventure to date, it has had
significant hurry-up-and-wait components.  Long times on hold waiting for
support reps, or for them to respond in online chats.  Waiting for various
documents to arrive.  Sometimes waiting for caregivers to finish processes
to handle Mom's basic needs.

Not to mention the traffic around here, if I have to go run errands.  OMFG.
Traffic volume is supposed to be generally *lighter* around these parts until
snowbird season starts to ramp up, but several people have observed that it's
been basically bad all this year.  One problem is that the light cycles seem
to be about three times longer than up north.  And of course the roads and
intersections are *huge* by comparison to squinchy Boston roads, with great
sweeping multiple left-turn lanes and islands and traffic lights that try to
accomodate every possible travel direction with specific signals.  Sometimes
"protected lefts" come before the main flow, sometimes after.  Out by I-75
on the major east-west thoroughfare here, they've ripped up the entire
interchange to replace it with a diverging-diamond type -- if you don't know
what those are, look them up, they're fantastic.  There's one up at University
Place that's complete, the first one in FL in fact, and it flows beautifully.
But while the more nearby one is being built, flow through that entire area
is simply hosed.  In the mornings, you can be at a virtual standstill for 15
minutes just due to light cycles.

So anyway, Mom has been rescued out of Hospice and safely ensconced in the
retirement-facility's skilled nursing section, undergoing rehab.  I can now
stroll easily across campus to visit, and bring her stuff from the house.
Her brain isn't entirely back to its old self but she is improving, and is
still hugely grateful that I'm diving in to take over running the mundane
and more technical parts of her life.  We're floating the idea of moving
her out of the detached house to the assisted living section, which she is
gradually becoming a little more receptive to.

Last night, I finally had a chance to go out and do something mildly social,
by attending a little Equinox festival at a local Unity organization.  Never
heard of these before, but apparently they're a thing -- not Unitarian, just
a more laid-back, earthy sort of spiritual group.  They've got a nice little
labyrinth on the grounds, which held the gathering circle.  There was a bit
of drumming, affirmations, honoring the four cardinal directions, passing
of magic rocks [which were *not* people's phones, which when you think about
it really are their own kind of magic rocks], and a fairly prominent Native
American flavor to it all.  The fun fact is, Mom and some collabs used to run
very similar events back in NJ and even a little bit after the move to FL,
more geared toward women and the "moon group's" natural cycles, but including
a lot of the same symbolism.

It was nice to actually be "Hobbit" for a while, where I've been having to
rattle off my legal given more than I think I ever have when dealing with
all these financials and healthcare and tax people and even the other folks
around the campus who only know me as what Mom named me.

Mom's not imprisoned in the care section, by anything other than her own
body at least; yesterday we loaded her into the wheelchair and took a little
tool around outside so she could look at some of the construction they're
doing, and today I'm going to roll her over to the on-campus theatre [it's
in the same building] for a talk on someone's Antarctica trip.  But going
back to the house is still a non-starter until she gets more strength back.

So it's more hurry up and wait, although I can definitely keep myself busy
by digging through her notes and figuring out what more I need to move online
and start managing.  Some of this *does* get a jump on what I'd have to do
once this does turn into an estate-handling mode, so that and all the research
and prep we've done over the years beforehand will be a big help later.
That's what I came prepared for, as I've said -- not just a brush with death.

Mom's frequent advice to me has been "never get old".  I'm trying my best to
embrace the inner child, but this month is definitely going to sprout its
share of grey hairs.

_H*