Perxactly

per-xact-ly (adverb)
[Origin 2008, from Latin perfectus, to finish + Latin exactus, to weigh]
1. Precisely, completely, to the uttermost. "Is that the itchy spot? Perxactly!"
2. Adequate in every respect; "That is perxactly the itchy spot."
3. Fully accurate; "Perxactly right."
(Darrow Family Unabridged Dictionary of Rose-isms, 2008)

The last several days have been full of conversation. Mom has been talking, laughing, frowning, rolling her eyes, instructing...every hour has a Rose story.

The conversation picked up the pace on Sunday evening. Monday morning, she offered us a new word when she couldn't scratch an itch on her hip. I hit the spot perxactly. Nothing but perxaction for my mom.

This next story is a little personal but Suzy and I agreed I needed to lay aside propriety for the sake of the bloggers. As we started our morning routine on Monday, I had not yet changed my clothes (I usually sleep in my clothes when I'm with Mom). To make things fun and interesting for Mom, I told her I was about to perform an amazing feat by holstering my bosom without removing my shirt. Without fanfare I succeeded and announced to her, "There! I'm holstered!" To which she replied, "Could I have some of that?" After Suzy and I recovered enough to speak, I told her, "Mom, I got them from you!" She shook her head and said, "Well, shame on me."

Mom has been enjoying the Olympics every day. We watched Michael Phelps win his eighth gold. Jodi told me the other day that Mom and Paul were watching together, and that each had very interesting takes on the unfolding events. Paul and Mom have a special relationship that I can only describe as antagonistic affection.

There are so many moments to share, so much laughter, and not enough time to capture it all. But we'll continue to share the highlights with you.

Before I left for home on Monday I asked Mom if I could take her picture. As much as we tried to get her to laugh, she just didn't. We asked her what happened to her smile. She said with concern, "I think I've lost it."So, the picture below is her best effort, but not reflective of her demeanor.

Suzy told me today that Mom had a moment when she seemed sad. Suzy asked her what was wrong, and she said, "I don't think I have many days left." Suzy asked her if she was sad, and she said she wasn't. Suzy told her, "You know what, I think attitude is everything. So what attitude are we going to have today?" Mom replied in song.

Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy

A kid'll eat ivy too

Wouldn't you

Singing is always the right thing to do. Perxactly.

Dose of Reality

The last few days have been mostly sunny in Boyne City, and so has Rosie.
Mom has gradually been moving into medications in non-pill form, reducing the pill-swallowing hurdles of her daily routine. Although pill time has been a great source of character and patience building for us, we'll just have to find other ways to exercise those virtues.

I promised to share some Rose-isms. We haven't sat down to recall them all on paper yet, but here's a couple:

"The eagle is of symbolic interest."
"I have an anecdote."
"Una minota minosa." We don't know what it means, but Suzy thought it sounded Spanish. A quick web search didn't prove her right. However, there is a Czeck word minuta, meaning "minute."

Mom has been talking from her past more and more. She has been talking about her sister Dorothy, her brothers Howard and Jack. Suzy said she talked about her brother Donald a couple weeks ago - Donald was her brother who died in infancy years before she was born. She has asked about her mother, Naomi, and has occasionally called us Mama.

Mom has frequently talked about Dad, referring to him as my husband, which she never did in the past. He was always Dad or Ken. Yesterday she said to me, "I was expecting your dad would be home from golfing by now." After eight years, I still occasionally wake up forgetting Dad is gone, the sting of reality sometimes taking several minutes to set in. How would it be if reality was not so readily accessible? I asked Mom if she missed him. She said yes. Then we moved on to discuss someone on an old TV gameshow she thought she knew.

The conversation is not always in reality, but the inflection, the humor and the expression are all Mom. She told us yesterday she wasn't very pleasant to be around. Evan told her she is our sunshine, even if she isn't feeling like a sunshiney person. Evan is good at cheering his Grandma up. Almost always, Mom is happy and comfortable, and she really is our sunshine.

Home Alone - Plus One

Miraculously, Mom continues to do well.
"Well" meaning she has been free of infection for the last six weeks, free of the associated maladies associated with infection, on only pain killers and a beta-blocker, and fully expressing her personality.
In the last two months, two of Mom's grandchildren have graduated from high school. Paul and Suzy renewed their wedding vows for their 25th wedding anniversary. She enjoyed the Fourth of July complete with fireworks. She celebrated the birthdays of several grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and her sister, Dorothy. Her life has been full and happy.
The temptation is too great to refrain from exclaiming to hospice, "WE TOLD YOU SO!"
Ahhh. That felt good.
Last week Suzy took her kids - including church kids - camping at St. Ignace Sunday through Tuesday. Then on Thursday, the family minus Corey and Jodi took Haley and Ruby downstate - Ruby to stay with son Tim until her flight home to San Diego on Tuesday, and Haley to fly to Honduras for a three-week mission trip with her friend and missionary, Rosalee Melton. I had the privilege of spending the week with Mom - mostly alone - and we had a great time.


Ruby and Mom, August 7. Ruby prayed for Mom and sweetly encouraged her before she left. We will miss Ruby.

Haley and Grandma Rose, August 7. Haley will be back from her mission trip to Honduras on August 28.




We watched Animal Planet, Red Skelton reruns, and Anna and the King. We've been reading The Shack by William P. Young (if you haven't read it, I highly recommend it), and we got half way through chapter 12 before I left for GR. The Shack was given to me by my wonderful friends Deb and Russ Coates during their Michigan visit in June. Deb expressly recommended the book as a good one for Mom and me to read together. It's hard to know whether Mom really remembers what I read, but she thoroughly enjoys my reading it. And in the meantime, I am thoroughly enjoying the story.


Mom has been alert and present for the last several days. She is generous with her I love yous and her hugs. She isn't able to use her hands and arms well, but she moves them much more frequently since we began giving her pain killers regularly. She points, tries to scratch - sometimes successfully - attempts to change the channel on the remote, tries to help while feeding her dinner. She loves to hold hands.


Tina gave her a manicure during her visit on August 3. This was Mom's first manicure in several weeks due to the pain in her joints, prior to her regular dosage of meds.


Makayla saying goodby to Great-Grandma Rose with flowers, August 3.


Tina and Mom, August 3.

Mom's visit with Vital Care Nurse Catherine and trainee Amanda on August 7.

Corey and Jodi with Grandma Rose on August 7. She did smile, just a little late.

Here, I asked Mom to smile. She responded with a wink.