WLToo's mother died suddenly last week, two months short of 90. Brain aneurysm. At least she did not die of anything she was afraid of.
Now we're dealing with her estate, which, of course, she did not sort out or organize. Just took a break from untangling jewelry so we can get it all appraised. Next week is the rosary and funeral mass, and the brothers have to clear out her rooms at the retirement village, while taking photos of what they are keeping for the estate appraisals, and of what they are not keeping for the donation deductions. We have so many lessons learned coming out of this already...
When we were called last Saturday that she had collapsed, we just barely got the cats into the animal hospital for boarding before they closed for the day. Dashed to Houston (insofar as driving four hours is "dashing") to find her DNR in her files and get to the hospital with it. Unfortunately, they had already exceeded her explicit instructions, so there was a 48-hour delay before they finally disconnected the machines. Lesson learned: if you have a DNR, carry it with you at all times.
WLToo has a copy of her will, but we have not been able to locate the original. We dug through all kinds of papers scattered all around, only to find out it wasn't even there. That will cause a mild hiccup in settling her estate. Lesson learned: Have more than one original of a will and keep it handy.
She told WLToo what to put in her obituary, and where she wanted the services held, but never mentioned the little things, like what she wanted buried with her. So I suggested the dress she'd worn for their 50th anniversary and renewal of vows. Couldn't find the specific jewelry she'd worn (she had jewelry scattered all over her rooms, so while searching, I consolidated everything into one box), so settled on a set of earrings we'd given her and a matching pendant, plus her wedding bands. Then, at the funeral home, the pendant had no chain, so we couldn't use that. They asked if she would have wanted a rosary. Duh. We had her purse with us, to give them various forms of ID and such, and the necklace she'd been wearing when she collapsed and a rosary were in it, so I handed both over. Lesson learned: Tell your loved ones what you want buried with you, and keep that stuff handy.
She'd told WLToo what kind of mass she wanted, but never mentioned special music. WLToo decided to leave it up to the nuns, at whose monastery the services will be held. Lesson learned: If you like certain songs and want them performed at the service, tell someone.
She had a pre-paid burial plan, but there are still extra costs, such as the obituary, opening/closing of plot, police escort, limo service, death certificates, etc. Good thing WLToo was co-signatory on her financial stuff, so that her estate could pay those costs. Lesson Learned: Get a pre-paid funeral/burial/cremation/whatever plan, and give someone you trust authority to pay extras from your estate.
Big Lesson Learned: WRITE. IT. DOWN. and KEEP. IT. READILY. AVAILABLE. TO. SURVIVORS!!!
Then we cleaned her refrigerator, secured anything we thought was high value or easily pilferable, and came back home. The cats were thrilled to come home and stuck to us like glue for a couple of days. We slept for 12 hours the first night, and are getting back to something like normal, until we go back to Houston next week.
I am not able to have my catheter ablation on Tuesday, as we go back on Wednesday, but I hope it will be re-scheduled fairly soon. Houston's humidity just pours liquid into my calves and ankles, and the a-fib doesn't help move it out. Soon as we got home Tuesday night, I went into the pool and stayed until they no longer felt so tight and heavy.
WLToo is very much looking forward to settling the estate, so that he need never go back again. Can't say I'm fond of the place, either.
Spot has taken to sleeping outside at night, even last night with all the noise. Fireworks going off until well after 0100. Some people really spend some money on fireworks -- I enjoy the show, but have no desire to join in. I'm happy to sit on the porch with a nice glass of something and swivel my head back and forth as the lake gets lit up.
I'm glad Spot's decided the porch is a good sleeping place, as he doesn't claw stuff or pee on it. I do wonder if he'll still be interested in staying outside when it gets cold, cold being a relative term in this part of the Hill Country. If he insists on it, we'll build him an insulated box and tuck it under his favorite porch chair -- he loves boxes. But I somehow think he'll prefer to spend the cold nights up against my back, and frankly, I like him there.
Code, there are probiotics in his food, and he gets Dasaquin every day. The test will be how he responds to next week's incarceration. He's doing ok right now, but two boardings in two weeks just might set him off again.
Alex' heart scan showed some thickening of the walls, so he's on one pill a day. It's super tiny (a quarter of a small pill, actually) and easy to toss in the back of his throat. He gets treats right after, so he's tolerating it just fine. Then Spot has to get treats, too, because his sense of fairness is so well developed... Other than that, Alex is just fine. We have Tramadol to apply to his ears as needed for the arthritis pain, but he's not shown any pain since coming home.
I'm looking for a non-prescription joint supplement that could help him. Any suggestions?
My sister, nephew and ex-BIL were here yesterday. Sister fed carrots to MDL and got real chummy with her. I cut up the watermelon remnants into deer bite sized pieces, and WLToo dropped them all near the water trough. Sister led MDL to the pile, but she doesn't care for watermelon. Another doe with her fawn chowed down. A couple hours later, there was no sign any watermelon had ever been there.
Well, time to get back to untangling jewelry. Later, y'all.
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." -- Mahatma Gandhi
Czarny, black cat
Rainbow Bridge: Spotacus, Alexander the Grrreat, and so very many more