by Judy Handley | Aug 9, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 221: Long Trek Home from North Carolina
Date: Tuesday, August 9, 2022
Weather: Sunny Morning in NC, Rain on Return to Boston; High 85, Low 69 degrees
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
After an eleven-and-a-half-hour trek, I finally got home tonight at 7:30 pm. Much of my day was spent traveling to and from airports and waiting for transportation. And my bus ride home from Boston was longer than my flight from Charlotte. Regardless, the good thing is that I am home with my Shadow. And he really is my shadow. He will not leave my side. It is so good to be home.
I could go on and on with a laundry list of all the things that were difficult and challenging this past week, but I don’t want to subject you to that. I will just say that home has never felt so good.
by Judy Handley | Aug 8, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 220: Flying Home Tomorrow
Date: Monday, August 8, 2022
Weather: Sunny; High 91, Low 71 degrees
Location: At Home on the Shores of Lake Norman with the Thompsons, Mooresville, NC
My niece is stable, and I am flying home tomorrow. I’m so tired, that’s all I can write. More tomorrow night when I get home.
by Judy Handley | Aug 7, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 219: Still Holding
Date: Sunday, August 7, 2022
Weather: Sunny; High 89, Low 70 degrees
Location: At Home on the Shores of Lake Norman with the Thompsons, Mooresville, NC
After a very, very difficult week, I just had an amazing evening. Family friends invited me to spend the next couple of nights with them. They were out for the evening when I arrived, so I had an hour or so all to myself. Their home is on Lake Norman, and the first wonderful surprise happened when I turned onto their street. There were two adult and one young deer at the entrance to the street to greet me. I let myself into the house and then immediately walked down to the dock. It was just before sunset and the view was breathtaking. I moved from the sitting area down to the floating dock on the water as the sky was changing colors. Fish were jumping and a turtle stuck its nose up out of the water to say hello. I felt like I was on a sailboat as the dock rocked with the incoming waves from passing boats. For a few minutes, I felt like I was in heaven. Such a special moment in such a beautiful setting.
But now back to reality.
I checked out of my home for the past seven days this morning, went to Lowe’s to get a couple of items for my sister, and then spent the rest of the day with her. Just before sunset, I drove to my new home for tonight and tomorrow night with family friends, Brian and Judy Thompson. If my niece remains stable, I have decided to fly home on Tuesday and return as soon as my niece passes. Tomorrow’s job is to talk to hospice to see if they can find someone who will stay with my sister until I can get here after my niece’s death. My niece’s situation has not changed in the past 24 hours, so we are just waiting. I have given up on the idea of driving down here with Shadow. When I return, I will fly.
My sister really didn’t want to go out today, so I stayed at home with her all day and evening. I have eaten what I would consider real food for a week, and I agree with her that the food in her assisted living facility is not what I would choose to eat. But today I did, and I am still alive!
by Judy Handley | Aug 6, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 218: Still Holding
Date: Saturday, August 6, 2022
Weather: Sunny Day, Rainy Evening; High 88, Low 70 degrees
Location: At Home in The Fairfield Inn, Mooresville, NC
This ‘flight’ I am on is still in a holding pattern. I am still in the process of figuring out what I am going to do, but in the meantime, I am cancelling tomorrow’s flight and rescheduling for ??? I was able to reschedule once with no extra charge but rescheduling a second time is going to cost about $200. I just could not leave my sister tomorrow morning. My thinking at this point is that I fly home on Tuesday, get Shadow and drive down here with him, and get an AirBnB for the next couple of weeks. But this all depends on how my niece Jennifer is doing. After a sharp downturn, she has made a miraculous comeback. It is temporary, but her pulse rate is strong, she is fairly alert and oriented. She now wants to see people, so this afternoon I took my sister over. Jennifer was talking, even laughing, especially when Jennifer’s daughter’s big dog Marley got up and tried to sit on Patsy’s lap. Patsy only weighs 84 pounds and I’m sure Marley must weigh at least 60.
We had a nice family time together. But now it is time for me to get online and make flight changes that are still to be determined. This is all just so hard.
by Judy Handley | Aug 5, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 217: Holding Pattern
Date: Friday, August 5, 2022
Weather: Sunny; High 92, Low 70 degrees
Location: At Home in The Fairfield Inn, Mooresville, NC
I feel like I have been on an extremely turbulent flight that has been put in a holding pattern waiting to land. We dealt with my sister’s legal issues yesterday which felt like sailing through a squall, but in the end emerging into calmer waters. But today was the turbulent flight with my niece. Some people experience a burst of energy in their final days that is referred to as terminal lucidity. I don’t know if that is what Jennifer was experiencing today or not, but she suddenly was able to talk and let her feelings be known that she would prefer to be alone. Many people want family around them, but today Jennifer stated very forcefully that she wants to be alone. So, of course, we are bowing to her wishes, but it is difficult for everyone, especially my sister, Jennifer’s mother. I was with my sister all day and decided to extend my stay at least one more day. If it looks like Jennifer is going to fight on for a few more days, I might fly home on Sunday and return after her death to be with my sister. Or maybe I will just stay. I just can’t decide. In any case, I am trying to encourage my sister to come home with me when this storm is over for a little Cape Cod vacation. She is resisting, but I shall persist.
Heather, Jed, and Ollie got home from Boothbay today. They will pick up Sam and Jonah from Scout camp tomorrow and go to Coast Fest tomorrow night. I will miss seeing them before they all head back to the boat in Boothbay on Sunday. I am so anxious to go on a sail with them, but that might just have to wait for a bit.
by Judy Handley | Aug 4, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 216: Harder, Not Easier, But Successful in NC and ME
Date: Thursday, August 4, 2022
Weather: Mostly Cloudy; High 88, Low 70 degrees
Location: At Home in The Fairfield Inn, Mooresville, NC
Things here in North Carolina got harder today, not easier. My niece Jennifer took a sharp downturn and hospice is now thinking she has only days to live, not weeks. My sister, her other daughter Janet, a loyal and trusted family friend, and myself had a very stressful two and a half hour meeting with an elder lawyer this afternoon. There were more issues than we anticipated, but in the end, I think we got most everything taken care of. That’s the important thing.
Heather, Jed, and Ollie sailed from Tenant Harbor to Boothbay today. Here’s what Heather wrote today: “Jed and Ollie found the most amazing maple cream donuts in Tenants Harbor this morning. We got back to Boothbay this evening. Lots of motoring into the wind, but a couple of lovely hours sailing across Muscongus Bay this afternoon – 6+ kts for a while. We have also uncovered issues and needed repairs at every step, but I estimated two steps forward, one step back but Jed said he thought it was more like three forward, one back. Ollie has been unfailingly awesome–helpful, self-sufficient, never complained. We are all exhausted. But things are good.” Heather has been assuming the role of captain, but she sent a photo of Jed at the helm today and all I could think when I saw the photo is that we have another Captain Graybeard. 
I had never noticed that Jed’s beard was gray before. For Mark’s 71st birthday, Heather and family and Justin and family planned a pirate’s birthday sail to Tarpaulin Bay with the original Captain Graybeard.
Now we have a successor. We just have to get Jed a pirate’s hat!
