Woo, hoo .... Road Trip!

Penny enjoys the view out of the van window.

The decision was made between Larry and Linda to move our mother and her beloved cat Penny from the memory care facility Brookdale at Corona, California to the memory care unit at Cliff View / Brookdale in St. George for three reasons: so she can be closer to family, so we can monitor her care and because it simply makes sense. Larry had only just returned to Seattle after Christmas when he boarded a plane again 10 days later to fly back to Las Vegas where he was picked up by Ed, Stacy and me on our way to SoCal to make this transition happen. 

The actual move went much smoother than I had anticipated.  We had an army of help … Stacy most of all!!!  Not sure how we could have pulled it off without her along to soothe, reminisce and lend her professional skills to the project (besides she’s a barrel of fun).  Janine Bills, Mother’s long time visiting teacher and the Bishop’s wife, kept Mother occupied until we disassembled the apartment, packed her up and drove out of Southern California.  Bless you, Janine for your friendship and support.   Thanks, too, to the two young missionaries – Elder Camper and Elder Allen – who spent an hour helping us move furniture and belongings, then pronounced a priesthood blessing upon her head asking the Lord to bless her with peace and comfort in the transition.

As we settled her into bed in the van, one of the Brookdale staff people, who had been helping us with the move, said to me as she left us to our task … “I feel for you!”

For at least half of our trip north on the I-15 freeway, we were barraged with, “I HATE YOU ALL … I’M TAKING YOU OUT OF MY WILL … TAKE ME BACK!!!  I DON’T WANT TO GO TO ST. GEORGE.  TURN AROUND, TURN AROUND, TURN AROUND.  I HATE YOU ALL!!!  DON’T CALL ME MOTHER ANYMORE.  I DON’T HAVE ANY CHILDREN … DON'T EVER TALK TO ME AGAIN ... LINDA TRIED TO STEAL MY HUSBAND, NOW SHE'S STOLEN MY SON ... WHATEVER LINDA WANTS, LINDA GETS ... YOU’LL NEVER GET A DIME OF MY MONEY” … and all this was WITH a sleeping pill and her anti-anxiety medication (which we later discovered was out dated and useless).  

Twenty-four hours after she arrived at Cliff View, I stopped by to see how things were going.  I asked her nurse if she was getting along OK.  She rolled her eyes and asked me, "Is she always like this?"

Watch for news of the release of the 3-volume book set about this exciting adventure, available soon at a bookstore near you.  The major motion picture based on this true psychological thriller will star Angelina Jolie as “the responsible daughter,” Ryan Reynolds as “the son … and golden child,” and Joan Crawford as “Mommie Dearest.”  Rated “R” for gratuitous language and violence.