I didn't really want to go in the first place, but Jane was ready to get out of town (she's had a hellish couple weeks at work), and we are trying to make it back once a month or so for my mom (since my sister just can't seem to find the time to visit more than a couple times a year). It was not a real pleasant trip, but definitely worthwhile and I am glad we were there.
First, and this has nothing to do with the trip, I took Friday and Monday (today) off work. I can barely stand to work for my boss anymore. Friday morning (did I mention I took Friday off?) he sent me EIGHT emails BEFORE 11 am! Eight emails in one morning is enough, but on my day off!!!?!!! He is a clueless idiot.
A DIFFERENT ROUTE
Anyway... (sorry for that rant)... Jane got off work early Friday, so we left just after noon. We took a different route back. We started out on rt. 30, but before we got to the Gary-to-Joliet section of I-80, we took some lesser-traveled roads around the south end. It wasn't terrible, but it added 30-40 minutes, and involved a lot of turns and back roads. It might be an option during rush-hour, but that would be the only advantage. It took right at 5 hours (we made it home the "normal" route in 4:10, which was a little quicker than usual).
Friday night we took mom out for supper, then just hung around the house. I think we went to bed at like 9 pm (their time).
NURSING HOME TOUR
Saturday morning we started out by going to the Veterans Home in LaSalle. Dad is on their waiting list, and their plan has always been that this is where he would go when the time came. It would be a lot cheaper since he is a vet, and we have heard nothing but good/great things about the place. Unfortunately, it would double mom's drive each day to visit, and I think she thinks it's just a little too big. Anyway, we just did a pop-in, since none of the office staff apparently works on weekends. It was nice, but a little confusing trying to find our way around.
After that we stopped in Princeton to see dad at his current "home." It was fairly uneventful, but visiting him in the nursing home is really stressful for me. Partly because it's him, and partly because... I have never liked nursing homes. I visited my share when I was a pastor, and it's something I do not miss. Dad was just finishing up lunch, and we hung out in the main area where everyone eats and the nurses station is. Mom finally got him to lay down for a nap in the afternoon - even though he insisted we were all going golfing - and we high-tailed it out of there.
On our way back to Buda we were discussing this place in Kewanee that has been suggested to us. It would be much more expensive than the VA, but not quite as expensive as where he currently is. It's also solely for memory patients, and much smaller. So we drove over to Betty's Garden. Again, we just popped in, as there was no one in the office. Once we found it, it was really nice. A family member of one of the residents was just leaving as we arrived, and she raved and raved about how wonderful it is. One of the two staff members working happily offered to give us a tour. There are currently fewer than 20 residents - some single and some couples - and it really does seem more like a home (as in, not a nursing home, but like your OWN home). It is carpeted, everyone has their own room, and it's just more... "homey." I think mom is really torn over what to do now.
So, having visited three very different nursing homes in one day, I was ready to head back to mom's house. Jane and I went over to one of her brothers houses for a brief visit Saturday night, then we headed to bed somewhat early again.
PIPE BURST
Sunday morning was... a day. Just before 7 am Jane came into our room and woke me up with, "Dan, there is water spraying all over in your mom's basement." To her credit, she was very calm. At first I just thought the sump pump hose had sprung a leak or something. Not so much. It was the hot water hose on the washing machine, and it was literally spraying ALL OVER the basement. My mom had a bunch of clothes hanging to dry in the basement (for some reason), and they were soaked... as was nearly everything else. I got the water shut off, but the valve was super rusty and corroded. I should have just cut the plastic pipe off to begin with and put a new valve on right away. But, noooooo. I had to try to remove the hose from the valve. Well, it didn't take much for the ancient 1/2" plastic piping to snap off. In the pic above you can see where there is a section missing, plus the piece that goes over to the shower in the basement. It involved two "t" joints and one valve. Ugh. It's been a long time since I've done anything with plastic pipe. Fortunately Menards was open on Sunday morning (20 miles away), and they were helpful in getting us everything we needed. So, we were able to piece things back together, install a new valve, and replace both hoses on the washing machine. Then we spent another several hours drying and removing all the stuff that got wet in the basement. My back still hurts today. I'm not sure if it was all the trips up and down the stairs, removing the carpet, or from cutting the pipe up along the basement ceiling. It was not fun, but I am soooooo glad we were there. I would hate to think what would have happened had we not been.
We did finally leave around 2 pm Sunday, and made good time coming back home. We were both exhausted though. I don't think I could have got up and went to work at 4:30 this morning if I'd have wanted to, so I am really glad I took the day off.
And, there's the tale of another trip back home. A little more eventful than usual, but I'm glad we went.
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