November 19, 2012 - Moods

Moods

Moods can change quickly. Sometimes all it takes is a smile, a frown, a tear, a laugh, a phone call, a familiar face, a beautiful site, a scent, a song, or even a word.
Christy and I, along with mom's best friend, talked mom into going shopping and to lunch with some of the ladies of Shannondale. Maxine signed them up a few weeks ago, and mom has made noises about not going for over a week. She needed a break, and this was the perfect solution. 
A dear friend of mine has been trying to help us get dad's medals, so I was going to go up to the court house today to turn in the signed forms and copies of all the required documents. I followed my gut instinct by making a phone call before I went and I'm so glad I did ... The office is closed until the 27th! I suppose I will try again then.
I got up to the hospital and Christy had already been up there for an hour. Dad really looks good. He's having some pretty broad mood swings. Nurses are in his room often, which means he can't really rest or sleep at night. His mood took a turn for the worse when he found out he wasn't going to start his radiation treatments today. (Long story!)
Dad has been asking for his nail clippers, so I brought them with me today. Christy and I gave him a manicure and that made him smile. Seeing him smile made us smile!
I was wearing a new top that I bought recently. It has a boat neck and I'm not used to that design. I kept pulling and tugging on the shirt because the neckline was a bit uncomfortable. I mentioned it and started tugging on it and realized there was a tag ... That meant my shirt was on backwards! All three of us cracked up at that!
The respiratory therapist came in to check on dad and give him a breathing treatment. I asked him if there was any way dad might be able to talk and he showed us how it's done. He covered the hole with a tissue and a finger and told dad to say 'hello' ... He did. ... That was the sweetest sound we had heard in quite a while! 
Christy and I went downstairs to the Atrium while the nurses were lining up to do tests and check on daddy. While we were eating lunch we realized just how diverse our community is. I won't go into detail describing what all we saw, but I will say we were entertained. 
An occupational therapist came in to work with dad today. A physical therapist came in later. Then a clinical social worker. One of the ministers from their church stopped by. A neighbor stopped by after a treatment. Yes, it was a busy day in Mercer's room today!
Poor Bill ... He was shrouded by Murphy's cloud today. If something could go wrong, it did. We are all hoping tomorrow is a better day!
Conrad had a busy day from afar. Work, visiting with his son, getting his hair cut, dealing with our cats, grocery shopping, running. He's getting excited about heading over here in a few days, but is staying busy in the mean time.
 Mom got back from her excursion. She had fun and was tired, but she wanted to see dad. I went back to the house to get her. We stayed for a while, but left when dad looked like he needed to rest. He doesn't want us out after dark.
The Cotton family had a long, busy day. One of many. 25 days, so far on this journey, and many, many more to come. We have managed to coordinate our moods, for the most part. We have managed to all get along, for the most part. We have managed to hold everything together, and that's definitely been possible with the help of our friends and family. 
Y'all rock.