Happy Mother's Day (Belated)

Greetings from Heartland Gardens! We hope all Moms who come across this little part of cyberspace had a Wonderful Mother's Day.

Here, we celebrated a day early --- the weather was great, the gardens were full of color, and Mom wanted to get out of bed, into her wheelchair, and watch things from the porches. I was eating lunch, putting off mowing the lawn for a while, when Lynne called to me, letting me know Mom wanted to be wheeled outside... Well, like I had a choice, right? :) So, lunch was left unfinished, because Mom stayed out on the porches (back and front) for almost 2 hours! Yes, the grass did get mowed, but not during the heat of the day... Thanks, Mom, for delaying my work last weekend!

Before I move on to pictures, a brief update. Really, very little change in Mom's condition in the last few weeks. She doesn't eat much still, but her diet, at least, varies. This past week, she had some fresh carrots from the garden, wanted some Vienna Sausage, had some milk toast, and still likes her mashed potatos with fresh parsley from the garden.

Hospice care has been VERY good with Mom, and with us. In the last couple weeks, we were actually able to go out to dinner with some visiting friends, and watch our grandsons baseball games, thanks to the volunteer aides who allowed Lynne and I a couple hours of 'time off - together'.

Mom is visited by a hospice nurse twice a week, and has a home health care aide in once a week to help her with bathing, hair washing if needed, -- her personal care, and Annie does an excellent job.

Of course, Meredith, the social case worker, makes sure that Lynne and I, and the rest of the local family, are all doing OK with Mom's ever-changing conditions, and keeps insisting that we take time off together... which we have now, a couple times together, leaving Mom in the very capable hands of volunteer Laura, and last week, Laura and her husband.

It's kinda difficult for us, with the Hospice team wanting us to be able to spend time together, and us, not wanting to over-use the services that Hospice offers. Maybe in the weeks and months ahead, we'll find a happy compromise.

For now, Mom is doing pretty good, given where we were at just a couple months ago. As each day passes and dawns into a new one, EVERY day here at Heartland Gardens is Mother's Day.

Lynne's sister Ruth still comes down twice a week as well, to spend time with Mom, which gives us a little time together, working out in the yard uninturupted, or to go out to do the simple chore of grocery shopping together. Yeah, that doesn't seem important, or critical, but it's still a little time Lynne and I do have alone, even if it's walking down the aisles of the Wal Mart or Food Lion, or maybe even going to the Farmer's Market or a local garden center... Ruth's twice-weekly visits ARE so very important to us, and we so much appreciate the time she allows us to have together.
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Now, on to some pictures...

Here's a good shot of a beautiful stray rooster that frequented our yard, and our neighbors yards, for a couple weeks back in early April. He was a joy to see, but not particularly pleasant to hear at 4:30 in the morning :) We still hear him, but apparently he's back in the confines of his coop again.

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As Lynne posted, Karen's visit in April gave Mom lots to smile about. From the first hugs, through the sharing of pictures, both hard copy photos with Lynne, and then at the computer, where Karen and Ruth share online photos with Mom.





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April, May, and early June give us our favorite photo shots, as these will show. Mom has seen most of these, either from her room, or her porch visits. The pink Dogwood, new last year, put on a nice display for a young tree.


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Here's some of the Irises we had blooming







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The Clematis are still putting on a nice show in various spots around the yard.







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Here's some random flower shots. 2 years later, and we're still trying to figure out all the features on the digital camera :)












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Here's a boquet of flowers Lynne picked for Mom a couple weeks ago. They really brighten Mom's room, and bring a smile to her :)



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And, of course, after a hard day's work, Shadow and Tinkerbell take a well deserved nap...

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Thanks for taking time to stop in and see what's been going on here at Heartland Gardens. We'll have more pictures again soon, and hopefully continued good reports on Mom. Take care and God Bless!