My sister and I have made a pact to make sure my mother is checked on regularly. We emailed and texted each other, picking days to call, days to visit. If this sounds kind of silly, remember that my sister and I are not really on friendly terms. So the least we can do is make sure that our mother knows that a couple of us are keeping an eye on her, ensuring we don't miss some valuable and important info. For example, her falling a couple of weeks ago as she was putting eye drops in...It's good to know about her mishaps so we can follow up. Maybe call an extra time or two, go down to Brenham and see her a little sooner. Its not hard to focus your efforts on the people you value most in life. Most folks do that just fine on a daily basis. What becomes tricky is getting someone else to think along those same lines. Luckily where Mother is concerned, we both want the best for her. We want her to be as active and independent as she can for as long as she can, and the key to that is keeping up with her so we know when the time comes to go to Plan B.
I believe there are some very hurt feelings still pretty close to the surface - for both of us. But we can both agree that we love Mother and want the best for her. So that's enough for now, and its nice to know I have someone to help. My hope is that we don't come to a place in time where we want something different where mom is concerned. Because that will make it harder for us to keep her best interests at heart. And pretty much guarantee that we won't find our way back as sisters.
