Best news of the day---third son called from Boot Camp this morning. Surprised he still had his cellphone, and even said he wasn't sure he was allowed to call, but he HAD to. It was brief. He's desperately homesick, sleep deprived (still getting settled with shots, etc.) even with the official start of Basic Training not starting 'til Monday. Guess they're getting them prepared. He was near tears before he hung up, but still, it was a joy to hear his voice. This is where 'praying without ceasing' really speaks to my heart. I came out and asked him if he was still glad to be doing this, and he said he was, just exhausted.
And spent the better part of the day with my aunt (my mom's sister) at the hospital. My cousin had put a note on another relative's Facebook status about my aunt/her mom being in the hospital suffering from shortness of breath. It was purely by accident (?) that oldest daughter noticed it. Tell me, why do folks (even relatives) not tell you stuff directly but leave it to chance? That's the oddest way to communicate, but the norm these days.
Anyway, my aunt, who's 92, takes care of my uncle, who's 88 and has dementia and plain grumpiness. When he had to stop working awhile back---older than you'd think, it was like he lost the joy. He became very dependent and it's like the reality of growing older just broke his heart. Now he's needful of everything to be done for him, including having diaper changes. And at 92, this is more than my aunt can bear, but she's bearing it. Now she has, what appears to be, congestive heart failure, with shallow breath, bad swelling in her legs, and difficulty breathing if she's flat on her back. Seems her lungs fill a bit. She's on a significant amount of medication, which is keeping her alive, but she's not got any joy either. Life is just plain hard.
Watching my mom struggle with the simplest task and hearing her voice altered by the stroke, compounded by her sister having a tough time is challenging. Interestingly enough, all the women on my mom's side of the family are long-lived. Best to be prepared. :)
For tomorrow, just want to be home. Just that.
