2006 - it seemed like a no-brainer at the time. My partner's mom, who was widowed and living in Florida, had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. It was clear that she could not continue to live alone so Tracy (my partner) decided it was best to discuss the situation with her brother, who lived about 20 minutes away from their mom in Florida. The decision was to sell Blanche's townhouse and split the money between them. They would each build an addition on their houses - his in Florida and ours in Connecticut. Blanche would live six months of the year with us; and the warmer six months with her son, daughter-in-law and two granddaughters.
This idea survived for about two weeks. Tracy received an email from her sister-in-law saying that she did not think it was a good idea for Blanche to live with them as she would be too "isolated". Right - with her son, daughter-in-law and two granddaughters. So, we stepped up and put a 640-square-foot addition on our house. It is a complete in-law apartment and is really very nice. So in August 2006, Tracy went to Florida, packed up the contents of the house and put them on a moving truck, loaded her mom and Cleo, the cat into her mom's car and drove to Connecticut.
From that point forward, the journey has been much more difficult than either of us could have imagined. We were warned by some family and some friends that what we were planning was a bad idea. But we know even today, that it was the right thing to do. Blanche was not ready for an assisted living facility in 2006. She was still driving and was highly functional. I will now try to add to this blog on a daily basis for two reasons - maintaining my sanity, and maybe giving some insight to others who are just beginning the same journey.
This idea survived for about two weeks. Tracy received an email from her sister-in-law saying that she did not think it was a good idea for Blanche to live with them as she would be too "isolated". Right - with her son, daughter-in-law and two granddaughters. So, we stepped up and put a 640-square-foot addition on our house. It is a complete in-law apartment and is really very nice. So in August 2006, Tracy went to Florida, packed up the contents of the house and put them on a moving truck, loaded her mom and Cleo, the cat into her mom's car and drove to Connecticut.
From that point forward, the journey has been much more difficult than either of us could have imagined. We were warned by some family and some friends that what we were planning was a bad idea. But we know even today, that it was the right thing to do. Blanche was not ready for an assisted living facility in 2006. She was still driving and was highly functional. I will now try to add to this blog on a daily basis for two reasons - maintaining my sanity, and maybe giving some insight to others who are just beginning the same journey.
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