The fun and games of the holiday season are now over. Unfortunately, this means that Charlie’s 2017 tax season has begun. So, in addition to all of her company’s regular obligations, she will (in her spare time) do tax work for about four dozen individuals and small businesses. Yipes!
Our youngest son, Jonathan, has come down from frigid Whitefish, Montana to help Charlie get their clients ready for tax work, most of which will be done by CPA’s. It’s nice to see Jon, and it’s an opportunity for the brothers to hang out, shoot the bull, and watch some NFL playoff football. Jon’s team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, are in the playoffs, while Tim’s and Jeff’s favorite team, the Los Angeles Rams, are, as usual, at home watching the playoffs on TV.
Jonathan is the guy in the back, Jeff is front center, and the big hulking guy on the left is Tim. He’s on a diet. And, he’s also helping Charlie Manning Bookkeeping keep on top of things during the tax season.
The past week or so have been pretty tough on my Mom (Bobbie) and our “Manning” family. Mom’s been diagnosed with early dementia and Alzheimer’s, and she recently got the news that her car driving days are over. Needless to say, she’s devastated (what Californian wouldn’t be?), and is lashing out at loved ones in anger, because they are the nearest thing she can lash at. We know that she still loves us, even though it is really tough to take a dressing-down from your Mother. We’re all trying to weather this and hope that she will eventually accept the verdict and move on with her life. After all, she’s only 89.
Here she is in happier times, with my sister Claudia. What a difference a year makes!
My Mom still resides in her Vista home, where she’s been for the past thirty years. Her doctors advise against her “living alone”, so, for the time being, we children are taking turns dropping by to take her out to lunch, movies, and such, while an in-home supportive service lady drops by regularly to check on her. It’s unknown how long this kind of makeshift arrangement can last. The biggest problem is that all four of us kids live at least an hour from Mom’s house. We could lend her more support if she lived closer, that’s for sure.
I’ve spent the past week or so looking into the idea of an “assisted living facility” that Mom could move into when the time comes for more observation and supervision of her daily activities. At the current time, she suffers from short-term memory loss, but can still take care of her house, make her own meals, bathe and dress herself, and get about without a cane, wheelchair, etc. Other than being confused about things that might have happened yesterday, she is still pretty sharp for an 89 year-old lady.
Of the several ALF’s that I’ve visited, I am most impressed by one in Temecula “Wine Country”. It’s very nice, has lots of activities, and doesn’t have the look or feel of a nursing or “old folks” home. Rather, it is more like a cruise ship that isn’t moving.
I drove down to Mom’s yesterday to see how she’s doing. Amazingly, she looked good, seemed happy, and appears to be “over” the disappointment of having her driver’s licensed pulled by the DMV. In fact, she’s ready to get rid of the car “so I can save money on insurance and DMV tags”! My sister Claudia turned her onto a local $3 senior dial-a-ride service, and my Mom is already planning to use it to go to her favorite local spots. I took her to lunch at Chili’s and we talked quite a bit. She seemed pretty lucid, and she seems happy, for the moment. So, I didn’t bring up the ALF idea. As I told her, if she’s happy, her kids will be happy.
I’ve been in the Bear Creek practice bowling league ever since we returned from vacation. I haven’t been doing to well, bowling one time per week in this “social” league. So, I decided a few weeks ago to step up the effort: I joined a second league, a “scratch” league, which is very competitive. Immediately, my scores started improving, averaging between 190 and 200. But, my form was still very rusty, uncomfortable, and off-balance. So, this morning I took a bowling lesson from the local pro, Jim Murtishaw. Jim has taught me before; in fact, he’s the only instructor I’ve ever had. This morning he tweaked my delivery a bit, and I immediately began rolling some good balls. I’m encouraged, and will probably take another lesson in a few weeks, to see if the lessons have stuck. I think I should be able to average 210 if I bear down, and perhaps there’s hope for another 300, even though I’m a decrepit 69 year-old. We’ll see.