I will start at the beginning of this journey leading to the place in time we are in now.  I am going to attempt to write this from my mother's point of view, so please bear with me as I guess what she is thinking and feeling.  I think it will help me to understand her situation better if I write it in this way.  ****** will indicate my input

About 7 years ago:

Today I fell.  I already have trouble hearing, and now I'm having trouble with my balance!  I better not let anyone know about my fall.  I have noticed that I am having trouble with my left foot when I'm walking.  I have trouble picking it up and stepping over things.  I guess I'll ask my doctor about this next time I go to her.  Julia and S (**my sister) have both mentioned to me lately that I'm dragging that foot.

I had another fall today, this time I was with my friend, and so I can't pretend that it didn't happen.  I landed on my face and had to have stitches where my glasses cut above my eye.  That's ok, I don't have to tell about the other falls I've had.

Julia and A(**my husband) have moved back home.  I guess they'll try to start telling me what to do and what not to do.  Well, I hate to tell them, but I'm quite capable of taking care of myself.  Julia is already insisting that she take me to the grocery store, to get my hair done, etc....  She and A have even starting picking me up to go to Sunday school and church.  It's a little embarrassing to me that my friends see them chauffeuring me around like this.  Julia fusses at me because I back out of my driveway instead of turn around and go out forward.  She just doesn't understand how hard it is for me to turn with my shoulders hurting like they do.  I just hope she doesn't figure that out!!!

Today, Julia insisted that she would take me to Walmart instead of letting me drive.  She said that crossing the bypass is too dangerous for me.  She also noticed that I was having trouble putting the pan of soup on the stove top.  Doesn't she realize how heavy the saucepan is?  I bet she'd have trouble with this, too.

Okay, so now I'm really in trouble.  Julia was here today and saw me having problems lifting the laundry basket.  It dawned on her that I couldn't possibly be able to change the sheets on the bed by myself.  I told her not to worry about it, because I let Jenny (the housekeeper who came once every two weeks for a couple of hours) change the sheets.  Julia insists that they need to be changed more often.  Now, she plans to come do my laundry.  She doesn't have time to do all of these things for me.  She's still teaching full time.  She says that it's ok, because her girls are all grown and she doesn't have anything else to do.  She says that I did all of these things for her when she was growing up and that it's her turn to help me.  I don't want HER HELP!

Oh no, there's M(**her friend) in the other aisle.  I sure hope she doesn't realize that Julia brought me to the grocery store because she won't let me drive across the bypass.  Well, maybe she'll just think that Julia needed to come, too, and that we just came together.  I'd better not lean on the cart too much when we meet up with her.  Okay, let me stand up straight.  Oh that really hurts my back, but I don't want M to see me like this.  Whew, thank goodness she's gone and I can lean over again.  I'm glad I can use this cart for support.  S even suggested that I start using a walker the other day.  Can you imagine that?  There is no way I'm using a walker.  They've already insisted that I start wearing these old lady shoes!!!

*****more tomorrow........