Weekending + Somber News

I don't even know where to start this post. Usually weekend recaps are easy to write, but this one is a bit harder.

Last weekend, I received a call that J's grandma (who was currently in a nursing home) was being transported to the hospital. Her health continued to decline over the week and the decision was made to move forward with hospice care. Grandma moved from the hospital into hospice on Thursday evening and she passed away on Saturday morning, less than forty-eight hours later.

Over these last few months, J had to step up and make numerous important decisions regarding the care, health, and well-being of his family member. While it was nice to have her close by, it also broke my heart that she was unable to return to her home, which saddened Grandma and inevitably added stress for J. Watching him handle this situation drove me batty sometimes, but I am so very proud of him and told Grandma when I went to see her Friday evening that she has a remarkable grandson (understatement of the year). He accepted this responsibility with a tenacity and determination that only a mature man possesses. After many prayers and hard work from J (and our Heavenly Father), Grandma was able to leave this earthly world comfortably on March 4th.

I'm thankful that J was able to act in a manner that would have been pleasing to his grandfather and that E was able to visit before her health declined. Personally, I'm also glad that we did have family close by if only for a few months. I never knew my grandfathers and my grandmothers died many years ago. It has always impressed me that J had both his grandmas in his life at thirty-four years old.

This situation threw us (really J) into a different world - a world of  Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, Power of Attorney, etc. It's been an experience to say the least and I hope to share a few tips and recommendations in the future to encourage you to be prepared in case something happens to you or a loved one. If you have been through something similar and have a suggestion, please comment below. While it is not a pleasant conversation to have, it is imperative to take the necessary steps to prevent the situation from becoming an enormous burden on you or your family.

Needless to say, Friday and Saturday were spent visiting Grandma and communicating with family members. We also decided to visit Sears for a brief shopping trip since the entire store is on sale.

This consumer definitely benefitted from their closing - I stocked up on lightweight and heavy scarves (they won't be going out of style anytime soon), summer jammies and undies for E, peacoats for E for the next TWO years (at $9 a piece it was too much of a steal to pass up), leggings, collegiate attire, tools and jeans for J. It was insane - over $300 worth of items for less than $150. We will continue to check out their sales and price drops because Momma needs a new mattress! And for the record, this was the first time I have stepped into a Sears in YEARS.

Saturday evening I took E to the after-hours pediatric care to make sure that her strep was 100% gone. The test came back negative, but she had a slight fever. Ugh. She seems to be fine, but does Amazon sell take-home strep test kits? #askingforafriend

I stayed up way too late on Saturday catching up on one of my favorite shows, The Blacklist on NBC. Does anyone else watch this? I am LIVID if the traitor is in fact you know who. Ugh. These writers better find a way to spin this storyline - April 20th can't come soon enough!

A much needed morning at church, grocery shopping, and getting things done around the house made up our Sunday. Although I recently completed my fourth round of Whole 30, our eating these last two weeks has not been the best so meal planning and prep was a must before the week started.

While this was not the most exciting or happiest weekend for our family, this is real life and an honest recap of what our weekend looked like. J has a few days off work to tie up some loose ends and I will also be using a day to help him finalize a few things.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and have a fantastic week!

*Linking up with B Loved Boston, HoHo Runs, More Pieces of Me, & Trendy & Tidy