Thanksgiving, Family Traditions, and Uncle Chuck

I will be discussing a handful of things from life this past week. It’s an adventure finding a balance in life with family, friends, activities, work, and relationships. I’m still working on it, but I still strive to make the best of every day, enjoy the journey, and be happy. Here we go!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day was a bit non-traditional this year, but after my life on the island that doesn’t bother me one bit. As long as I am spending time with some people I care about, that is what truly matters. Our family wanted to spend the day with Uncle Chuck and Aunt Paula at Madonna’s Rehabilitation in Lincoln, where Uncle Chuck is currently staying after his ladder accident. Kyle and Rebecca are currently living with my parents, and it was nice to have the eight of us together despite the non-traditional circumstances.

Mom, Dad, Sheldon, Kyle, Rebecca, and I all met up in Lincoln for a little lunch before visiting Uncle Chuck. On my way into Lincoln, I noticed the sign for “Hi-Way Diner,” and I knew my dad would enjoy something like that. We decided that would be a good option for lunch, and it was definitely a place full of character. A few turkey dinners, one cheeseburger, one chicken wrap, and a couple of omelets made up the Stone/Boschen family feast for the day. We even took a ham and cheese omelet for Uncle Chuck.

At the end of the day, I found myself thinking about this quote:"We don't remember days; we remember moments." I remember the many smiles on this day spent with family. Uncle Chuck's smile when we all arrived to see him at Madonna's, Sheldon's smile when Dad mixed Shel and I up for a moment, Becca's smile when she won Blokus, Kyle's smile when he bit into one of my s'more treats, Dad's smile when we walked into the 24/7 diner full of character for lunch, Mom's smile when we made a wrong turn and laughed, and Aunt Paula's smile when she hugged her kids. Appreciate the smiles along life's crazy journey.

Hope (Mary’s little yorkie) and I ended our day by paying Miss Mary a visit at Brookstone Meadows, where she has been doing physical therapy after her knee replacement surgery. Was a little surprise for her, which was fun. Hope was also very excited to see her momma. I’m sure I’m fun sometimes, but she misses Mary. Another loving little family I have become a part of these past few months.

Visiting Uncle Chuck

I wanted to pay Uncle Chuck and Aunt Paula another visit down at Madonna’s. I decided Thursday morning would be a good time. It has gotten rather cold outside. It was 9 degrees out on my drive down to Lincoln first thing in the morning, but warm hearts to make up for it. He is making great progress. It has been only a week since my last visit, but he has more movement capabilities than he did then. Each step is a step for progress.

I asked Aunt Paula if she wanted me to pick up anything on my way in, and they requested some breakfast from McDonald’s. I don’t go there much, but for them I made the stop. I’ll admit it was fun watching Uncle Chuck smile as he ate that tri-tater and his sandwich. Aunt Paula was also very excited about a normal cup of coffee. Apparently whatever she has been drinking there isn’t quite the same. 

The nurses were running behind that morning, as we sat and chatted for a while over breakfast. It was already 9:10am, and no one had come in yet to start getting him dressed and moved as usual. Aunt Paula decided this morning would be a fun day for us to try and change him ourselves. By golly, we did it. Those nasty white stockings and all. Haha She did call in some nurse aids to help move him into his chair for transport, though, as he had an appointment for occupational therapy at 9:30am. We were only 1 minute late, too. Lucky for Uncle Chuck I also had brought some breakfast, or that may have been missing from the morning, too.

Nothing like jumping right in to make me assume this nurse role even more and feel really good about it. We all joked about it a bit, too. Uncle Chuck is quite the hard worker. Like I said he is making great progress, which is exciting. Little by little. I hung around during occupational therapy, where he worked his right arm, the one he has been struggling to move his hand much with yet this far. 

He finally did move his thumb and fingers a bit near the end, too, after the little exercise. Afterward, I helped him eat an orange and had some good chatting again. Then, it was time for me to head back to Omaha for work. I’m really glad I spent the morning with them and am looking forward to my next visit.

Final note for today. I'm such a klutz and dweeb sometimes. Somehow when I was at a gas station in Lincoln this morning, I managed to start shutting my car door on my head. Have a nice little mark for it, and it feels like a bruise on the inside. haha. Oh what fun... Makes me laugh though. I'm pretty put together most of the time, but I have my moments. I've been doing lots of research on my nursing school options and reaching out to people to keep moving forward. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!