I don’t want to know anymore (part I)

 

One of the hard things concerning Mom’s health worsening is what exactly I should tell my children.  I had just told them about the feeding tube and if she was in the hospital they may not be able to see her.  Ashton told me I could videotape her then show him the tape so he could see her. 

We read the kids their devotion tonight, and the story was about Sapphira and Ananias being deceitful.  The result was they both died.  Afterward, Lauren asked to see the devotion book.  She took the book and looked over it for a few minutes.  She said she did not like the devotion because it reminded her of Granny (because they had died).  When I went into her room to tell her goodnight I wanted to update her on Mom’s condition and prepare her for the upcoming week.  When I started speaking she replied, “I don’t want to know anymore.”  She knew it wasn’t going to be good news and would rather block it out instead of hearing what I had to say.

U   Have you put careful thought into telling children information about the loved one?  U

U  Are you being careful not to bring up conversations about the loved one around a sensitive child?   U

I talked with Joann today so I would know all the ins and outs about Mom.  She said Mom had not left the house since she got back from the hospital.  Mom now has a hospital bed at the house and uses a different room to sleep in.  The room has Mom’s bed, Dad’s single bed, and a few chairs for the visitors that come to see her.  A few people from Mom’s church came over today and did a short Sunday school lesson and sang a few songs.  Jamie told me the people from Mom’s church “were loving on her”.  She said someone had manicured Dad’s front lawn while they were gone.  One morning, Dad went to get the paper to notice someone had already gotten it for them and also dropped off some Danishes at the back door.

Joann said Mom basically stays in her pajamas when people come over to see her.  Joann went through Mom’s pajamas and threw out the old and yucky ones.   She bought her some new ones Mom could wear as visitors came by.  She even offered to get her dressed to wheel her around the block, but Mom did not get out.  I asked her if Mom went to church.  When Jamie asked Mom if they were going to church, Mom responded in a way that sounded as if it was not an option.  She said Mom has never taken her wheelchair into church, so she did not know if Mom was embarrassed or what.  My goal this weekend is to get Mom out of the house.  I want to build up her time out of the house, so she may consider going to see, The Passion, with me.

Note:  Photo by my daughter Lauren Glenn.