Gratitude (Thus, 10 Mar, 2011)

This morning I watched my teeny frail little old mom wobble her way across the living room in her bathrobe. When she got to the end of the couch, she stopped and said how grateful she is that I am here, even if it's only for a short time. She said she felt bad about imposing on me. I tried to reassure her that she is not imposing, and then I told her that I have started a conversation with my manager about letting me work from Rocky Point for a while so I can be here to help her. As long as I have Internet access, I can do my job from here pretty successfully via conference calls and email and file transfers, but my management in general frowns upon remote work because so-called "face time" is viewed as important. My manager's response was a one-liner saying that he will consider it and let's talk about it when I get back up there on the 21st. Mom said she would keep her fingers crossed and hope that it works out.

After lunch, mom settled into her green recliner with her blanket over her and started dozing off. Then she opened her eyes and said that she feels bad about imposing on Bob and Denise (the hospice folks). I reminded her that this is their job, and they get paid for it, and if they weren't doing this work they wouldn't have income. (And then it occurred to me that I had better also remind her that Medicare pays for hospice so she wouldn't think that she needs to pay them to ensure that they have income!) When they were here yesterday and Denise asked mom whether she wanted her to come once or twice a week, mom said once a week for now, and then she commented that she didn't want to take them away from people "who really need it"!