by Bonnie B Matheson | Jan 5, 2020 | Caring for aging parents, Family
My memoir about living with and caring for my mother is still not ready for publication. Unfortunately, this last year was not conducive to deadlines or serious revisions. It is hard to do that when you are living in the thick of what you are writing. I could see that...
by Bonnie B Matheson | Dec 31, 2019 | Caring for aging parents, Family
I had no inkling that the year would end as it has. January was a bit slow with some little show of snow and my birthday spent with my class from the Capital Speakers Club at the Rodarte exhibit. I spend hours looking out of the picture window in the Garden Room,...
by Bonnie B Matheson | Nov 11, 2019 | Caring for aging parents, Family, Musings about life
They say today is the best day for manifesting what you want. It has to do with the full moon in Mercury Retrograde. I don’t understand it. But I believe it is powerful. the moon tonight What I wish I could manifest is a new life for my mother who is 101 and...
by Bonnie B Matheson | Oct 28, 2019 | Caring for aging parents, Family, Musings about life, Women's Issues
For several years I could not manage to find a sibling or relative who would admit to understanding that my mother was becoming demented. My own children knew it, but because of denial in the family, it was hard to have a normal conversation about the facts. Then...
by Bonnie B Matheson | Oct 22, 2019 | Caring for aging parents, Family
Dressed for a Sunday evening out. When you have reached the age of 101, many things change. Once important things are discarded. People begin to fade away. They dress in beige, grey or black. Perhaps a navy blue jacket is worn to liven things up. These ladies have...
by Bonnie B Matheson | Oct 2, 2019 | Caring for aging parents, Family, Musings about life, Women's Issues
Today I took my mother to a luncheon which she has been going to for years. It was the opening event of the Washington Studies Group. A lovely group of ladies who are pretty much “old school”. Everyone was dressed up but no one more than my mother. She was...
by Bonnie B Matheson | Sep 26, 2019 | Caring for aging parents, Family, Women's Issues
My Mother and one of my granddaughters, Kathryn. Before today I had never heard of it. But apparently it is a real thing. Daughters Day. It will one day be as important as Mothers Day which is a totally “made up” Holiday that has never been very important...
by Bonnie B Matheson | Sep 6, 2019 | Caring for aging parents, Family, Musings about life, Women's Issues
So this will be short. A picture is worth one thousand words, isn’t it? And I have a couple that show the way I feel when the sun is just up and my time is my own before others awaken. Looking East along the side of the house. Our mornings have been spectacular...
by Bonnie B Matheson | Sep 2, 2019 | Caring for aging parents, Family, Musings about life
When I was a young girl, my father became Ambassador to Luxembourg. We went there in November 1953 at the end of my 11th year. The American Embassy was a beautiful building, nicely appointed. My sister, brother, and I all had our own rooms. We shared a bathroom, but...
by Bonnie B Matheson | Aug 2, 2019 | Caring for aging parents, Musings about life
My room faces East. When the sun rises over the water it does so exactly centered on my view from bed. By simply raising my head, I can look through the floor to ceiling windows. This mornings view was absolutely lovely, here in Newport Rhode Island. The sky was...
by Bonnie B Matheson | Jul 2, 2019 | Caring for aging parents, Musings about life, Politics, Rant
The 4th of July is a great holiday because it is not necessary to buy presents to show love. It is not difficult to decorate. You really only need a flag. And failing that, you can wear red, white, and blue clothes. That will show your support and keep you from...
by Bonnie B Matheson | Jun 30, 2019 | Caring for aging parents, Musings about life
I just spent a day and a night with my sister. She came east to take our mother to her summer home. Like most sisters, we grew up together, and though we are only 2 years apart we are very different. As children, I always preferred blue everything, clothes,...
by Bonnie B Matheson | May 23, 2019 | Caring for aging parents, Musings about life, Rant, Women's Issues
Families are full of quicksand, especially as the children grow up, marry and have families of their own. They all develop in different ways. What is important to one branch means nothing to another branch. They may be in direct conflict. There may be a sense of...
by Bonnie B Matheson | May 2, 2019 | Caring for aging parents, Coaching, Musings about life, Women's Issues
Which part of the game are you in? First half of life? The 3rd quarter? OK? How many of you are in the 4th quarter? I have lived more than 3/4 of a century. This is the 4th quarter for me. Pretty scary isn’t it? As we age, our responsibilities change. For some...
by Bonnie B Matheson | Apr 3, 2019 | Caring for aging parents, Musings about life, Rant, The Healthy Life, Women's Issues
Our Mother was lonely for a dog who loved her. She told us so one night after dinner. My sister and I were both staying at her the house. What she said was; “I am lonely.” and we both pricked up our ears, worried we were not doing enough.? But she...
by Bonnie B Matheson | Mar 5, 2019 | Caring for aging parents, Health, Women's Issues
Because I live with my 101- year- old mother, and sometimes fear that she will outlive me, I think more and more about what I want my own children to know. What do they need to know about my wishes for death and dying? It is so important to talk about things like...
by Bonnie B Matheson | Jan 20, 2019 | Caring for aging parents, Musings about life, Uncategorized, Women's Issues
We are all on a journey. It is different for everyone. No one can prepare for this journey because what happens on it and where it takes us is completely random. The journey of which I speak is the one we begin when our parents begin to fail. I don’t mean...
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