I haven't checked in with you in a long while. With the passing of my Dad in September, came the onset of heart failure in my 92 year old Mom. On November 4th, I retrieved her from her hospital bed. Four days later, I had put her house on the market, I had arranged for the house to be packed up and cleared out, and I swooped her onto the plane (she was half dead and I was praying the whole way home she would survive the flight). We arrived in N.J. on November 7th, and I drove directly to a rehab facility where she slowly regained her strength. Miraculously, two weeks later, I was able to move her into an assisted living facility. The good news is that she seems to be doing okay. In fact, I am amazed and proud at what a trooper she has been. It has been three months since she lost her husband, closed her beloved home and transitioned to a rehab facility, and then again to a new apartment at Brandywine. It has been rough ride.
I, however, am completely overwhelmed, overworked, underpaid, and literally having a bit of a breakdown. I miss my grandchildren terribly. I have spent almost every day for the last 4 weeks on the phone for several hours fighting with Insurance Companies, reenrolling in Part D plans in NJ, paying bills, picking up prescriptions, making deposits in various accounts, and generally fighting with a zillion people about address changes, stopping phone service, television service, and newspaper service, long term care benefits, and questioning the realtor on updates of the Condo sale, etc. And when I am not doing these things, I am with my mom advocating for her at a doctor appointment, buying her groceries, shower curtains, shoes, loveseats, or bringing her to CVS, and on other various errands. I, literally get out of bed at 5 to hit the gym before spending the greater part of my day righting her ship!
I used to see my five precious grandchildren several times a week but I don't have that luxury right now. This fact makes me very depressed and anxious. They are the joys of my life. I am hoping that as the months go on, mom will become more independent and not rely on my services as much. And, I will be able to transition back to helping my daughters more and start to see my grandchildren as much as I did before my mom moved here. Or is this my new normal?
In the meantime, I still don't sleep. As Thomas Edison said, "sleep is a waste of time."
As you all know, the panacea for my sleeplessness and my mode of decompression has been visual outlets for the past few years (and vodka!). Sadly, I don't have the ability to concentrate on reading books right now. I am hoping that, too, will change again. So here is what I've recently been viewing.
TELEVISION
The Morning Show-Amazon Prime. Pretty entertaining. And NOONE rocks a little black dress like Aniston. Reese Witherspoon is fabulous and the show is really "The Matt Lauer Story". Worth watching.
Mrs. Fletcher-HBO. Soooo much sex-you won't believe it!! I love Kathryn Hahn. She is a recent divorcee who explores lots of erotic possibilities now that she's single. Love it!
Succession-HBO. The second season was even better than the first. All the characters have so much depth. Brian Cox and Kieran Culkin are my favorites. It's the story of an elderly patriarch running a large company and figuring out what the future holds for the company and his family. Great!
The Kominsky Method-Netflix. This is the second season. Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin are amazing. However, I enjoyed the first season much more. This season it was a little ho hum and boring. But for those of you who enjoyed the first season, you'll want to watch.
Modern Love-Amazon. Six different episodes based on the N.Y. Times Sunday Column. I especially liked the last episode about an elderly woman and man who meet running and fall in love. Very well done.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel-Amazon. Season 3 rocks! I am loving every second. I didn't love season 2, but the writing has been spectacular this season. I love the scene at the pool at the Fontainebleau in Florida. Suzie sums up my feelings about Florida perfectly!
And, of course, I continue to watch Ray Donovan (SHO), Shameless (SHO), The Good Doctor (ABC)-LOVE THIS SHOW! Just beginning to watch The L Word and Work In Progress (Both just starting on SHO).
BROADWAY SHOWS
Hadestown-Completely amazing. Loved the acting, the songs, the story, and the staging. So worth seeing! Mesmerizing. Read the story first, before you see it.
Tina-Adrienne Warren is beyond fabulous as Tina. The little girl who plays Tina as a child steals the show and is immensely talented. The show is fun and enjoyable completely due to the incredibly talented cast. The show itself was ok, but it didn't matter as long as someone was singing!
An uplifting night that will leave you smiling.
MOVIES
JoJo Rabbit-GO!
Knives Out-GO! Fun, well done mystery. Great cast.
The Irishman-Watch at home on Netflix. 3 1/2 hours. Hated it!
A Beautiful Day in The Neighborhood-Fair. Liked the documentary much better than the movie.
Motherless Brooklyn-Go! Liked it.
Marriage Story-Very good and you can watch it on Netflix. Adam Driver is great!
Harriet-Cynthia Erivo is always amazing. Movie was poorly done though. Good to watch at home.
LOVE ALWAYS MOM-Amazon. This was a life changing documentary for me. Very difficult to watch. Tricia Gonnella Russo, whose family lived around the corner from us in Short Hills, documents her journey of trying to become a mom while dealing with the tragic diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer. She is such an incredible young woman who navigates her life in an inspiring and heroic way. Totally worth viewing.
Do not miss this!
Until the next time-
Wishing you and your families a Happy and Healthy New Year!
Peace Out-OneB
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