Breathe Deeply and Laugh

It was one of those days that tests my patience, threatens to raise my blood pressure and almost makes me hyperventilate. Yep.... it was my weekly Mom-Day.

I try. I really do. I want these days to be about building memories and enjoying what time we have together. Some days are harder than others. Today was, sadly, one of them.

It started off wobbly because I woke up not feeling 100% on my game. But Mom had a doctors appointment so I wasn't going to cancel going to town. The doctor visit was mostly uneventful. Except Mom's blood work showed that her cholesterol medication isn't really doing the trick and he was recommending switching to a different Rx.

No. Big. Deal.

Oh, but it is. It's a very big deal. Mom doesn't like change. Of any kind. Big. Small. With just cause or not. It took some serious cajoling and then flat outright firmness (from the daughter) to get her to agree to switch Rx. It also meant a trip to Walmart Pharmacy to pick up the new med's. I tried cheering her up by reminding her she could also get her flu shot while we were there. :)

Alas, Walmart wasn't doing flu shots. That really made Mom grumpy.  REALLY Grumpy. We got the new Rx and left. We went to Walgreens instead and had to fill out paperwork which made her grumpier. But she got her shot.

I also risked death by striking by showing her some cute flowery walking canes which I think she should use instead of always pulling on my arm for support.... thinking I'm gonna just ask Santa to bring her one for Halloween instead of the lump of coal she's working up to.....

Trying to lighten things up a bit I suggested a little retail therapy at Value Village. Mom has been complaining of some of her dresses fitting a wee bit too tightly so I said "let's buy some new ones!" We did find 2 very cute denim jumpers for her.... and these...

I don't know why I didn't buy them. I could have used them this evening to convince hubby I was in no shape to cook dinner!!

Thankfully I also had text's coming in from my sister during the day. She always makes me laugh when I'm nearing a melt down concerning our mother. Then I got this priceless text from my hubby who was working at home in the office today: dead bird carnage in living room. feathers everywhere. nice kitty.

Oh brother!!
I am blessed beyond measure that I am married to a prince of a man who cleans up cat barf and dead animal carnage on a regular basis. (not to mention the untold number of spiders he has saved me from!) I decided he deserved a nice dinner after all.

What saved the day was meeting up with a friend at the lovely Lake Padden at the end of my afternoon. She lives not that far from my mothers and right across the road from the lake. We enjoyed a long walk around the lake (about 2.5 miles) and got caught up on each other's lives. it had been a while since we'd really visited.

it was the perfect weather for such a walk. the canopy of trees that line the wide, well packed dirt pathway  make for a great place to walk regardless of the weather but it was just so lovely looking out at the lake and seeing the sun glistening off of it and the reflection of the trees in the water. It's definitely sweater weather even with the sun however and I was glad I had packed one for the walk.

Before we parted company she loaded me up with a box of Gravenstein apples which will be making an appearance in the form of pie come this weekend!!

I came home and whipped up a simple delicious dinner of stir fry sliced up bell peppers and sliced flank steak liberally dosed with Montreal Steak Seasoning and served it with a (cheaters) bowl of garlic mashed potatoes. (gosh I love that you can buy those already made-- just nuke and eat!! delicious!!)

and that was my Wednesday.