up and at 'em

Yesterday was an active one for Stevie. She was awake for most of the day. When I lost it talking with her, she told me to "Knock it off."

Stevie rested peacefully most of the night but was awake by about 4:30 this morning. Therefore, so was tish. I got up about 5AM. Stevie was in a talkative mood. Completely lucid, a little drowsy. But she knew who we were, just like yesterday. After some initial anxiety and a few sips of OJ, Stevie went back to sleep.

The hospice care aide came by today and gave Stevie a sponge bath. For the rest of the day, it was time to sleep--a little scary after all the activity yesterday. I wonder if this is a portent of things to come?

Both tish and I are getting good at figuring out when Mom's uncomfortable. We try to be there when she needs anything. She's so parched but continues to refuse any fluid. We've ditched the hospital water bottle--that apparently has bad connotations for Stevie.

Most of the day for us was spent working on Mom's estate and beginning to get her financial affairs in order. It was good to have something to focus on besides, well, what's going to happen here at some point in the future.

We're working down the "people who need to be notified" list. It's difficult, as it entails repeating the same set of facts and the inevitable outpouring of grief -- on both ends of the phone. It needs to be done, and the one bright point in each one of our conversations is that we learn a little more how amazing Stevie is and how she has touched so many lives in so many different and wonderful ways. (Sorry about that last sentence; it's late and I'm turning into a zombie here.) I'll try to include an image of something that we received today in a bit. It made us laugh and cry, all in the space of a minute.

Thank you all for your continued support. As I remarked to my Aunt Melba today, "I know that we've made the right decision here -- it's just the loss that I've got issues with."