My Journey of Hope: Getting Buy-In

This weekend has been all about buy-in for me.

First up, my parents. They are both dealing with myriad health issues, and the biggest thing they're facing right now is my father's newly discovered kidney disease. It is causing a great deal of fatigue for him, to the point that walking from the living room to the bathroom makes him winded. And forget about stairs! So, adjustments have been made in the house to accommodate their current needs, but their food storage was still an issue, as was making healthy meals. They have been relying more heavily on canned and packaged foods of late, which isn't as good as whole foods, but with limited ability to access the freezer in the basement, that complicated things.

My brother, sis-in-law and nephew were visiting this weekend, so we took the opportunity to bring a luncheon feast to them all. We even invited BioDad's father over, because after all, he's family. I made a rather spectacular creamy baked potato soup, and we had salads, chips and deli buns to enjoy. Mumsy went out to the store and picked up dessert, too!

While there, Bro, Hubby, and I had a chance to talk about some solutions for the food issue, and we presented the following idea: they have two ancient freezers (no really; one is something like 50 years old) in the basement, both full to the brim with food of unknown age and condition. Bro and I have volunteered to go through both of them, tossing anything outdated or freezer-burnt, and condensing what's left. We then suggested that they look at buying a new upright freezer that lives on the main floor, and we would batch-cook things like spaghetti sauce, chili, meat loaf, lasagna, etc. and freeze them in two portions. Then all they have to do is get a freezer bag or foil loaf pan out the night before, and cook up the side dishes while it cooks.

Thankfully, both of our parents were really on board with the idea! Of course, the moment I mentioned putting the old freezers out to pasture, he got this slightly panicked look on his face - we can't get rid of something useful, right? Baby steps - we'll start with de-cluttering the freezers, and see where it leads, but he did admit that neither appliance is very energy-conscious and would likely lower their power bill to have them shut off. It's so heartening to see progress being made.

Sunday saw me without a vehicle, so I was unable to attend church, though Primus got a ride from Hubby before he left for the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) event going on this weekend. (Side story: when Primus arrived at church, the man leading the worship team was disappointed that P was not on the platform, guitar in hand. He had jammed with them at the Thursday practice and got great response, and I think they all kind of expected that he would be playing. He had to let them know that he was in charge of media today, but nonetheless, they gave him copies of the music, complete with guitar chords, that he can now practice at home. What a great boost to his self-esteem! I'm so stinkin' proud of that kid.)

Because we were stuck at home, I decided to declare it Pajama Day, and Tertius, Quarta and I stayed in our jammie-jams all day long - you should have seen the confusion when Hubby and I told them to get their jammies on for bed tonight! We watched Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban, followed by a show that Secunda requested, "Attacking the Devil: Harold Evans and the Last Nazi War Crime", a documentary on Thalidomide babies, and the newspaper campaign of truth that blew the story open in the 1970s. Fascinating show. The little guys had some questions, so we talked about the birth defects, the improper testing, and the shoddy compensation offered to families. It also gave me the opportunity to talk to them about how such birth defects rarely affect cognitive ability, how these men and women overcame the limitations this medication placed upon them, and how they are able to function quite well in the world.

When we took a break for them to practice their breakdance routine that they're doing for the talent show at school, I went downstairs to the office, which had begun to get cluttered again. I spent a few minutes assessing what I can do (starting with putting a few items up on the 24 hour bidding site), and by the time Tertius and Quarta came inside, I had a bag at the ready. We quickly picked up about 20 pieces of garbage, and made it look much nicer in there! I had no whining, no cajoling, and no resistance to the task as presented to them. It put such a smile on my face!

So, not a lot of work got done around here because of my painful hands, but dishes got completely caught up again, progress was made in the office, and a big step has started for my parents' home.

Talk about a weekend of win!