Last year at this time, we had moved my mom into her assisted living facility, and had begun cleaning out the house. We had moved the basics into Mom's room; her bed, desk, couch, clothing, filing cabinets and the items she wanted around her. My BIL was with me, to help move the heavy stuff, and every day I'd go pick up Mom and bring her back to the house so she could go through stuff. C and I quickly realized we were doing better without the hour-long trek to get her and take her back, since not much was actually being accomplished! After C returned to Canada, I went over to help Mom get her things more organized. Her friend CC came over and I unpacked boxes and put her 'pretties' on the cabinet shelves (we had the doors removed) and hung up her clothes.
Then the coronavirus aka Covid-19 arrived in Indiana. Mom's facility went on lockdown, and I was no longer allowed into her room. By the 24th of March, all residents of the state were supposed to 'shelter in place', so my daughter came up to help me. We moved everything into the garage and had the auctioneer and men from church get the other big items out of the house.
The ORIGINAL plan was to store Mom's items in a storage unit, and every week or month, we'd take a box or two over for Mom to decide whether to keep it, donate it, or give it to a family member. My sister had also set aside several items to be shipped to Canada, and my BIL had taken what he could when he returned.
Suddenly, the entire country was on lockdown, with mask restrictions; businesses closed or severely restricted hours/occupancy. The US/Canada border was closed.
This past summer, when the house finally sold, I was able to attend the meeting and sign the papers. By August, we were able to schedule face-to-face meetings with Mom, for an hour per week, and only in the Chapel, both masked and 6 feet apart. No touching (though, with the nurse's back turned, I gave Mom a quick side hug and a kiss through my mask!).
This fall, residents and staff tested positive for CV, so they went on lockdown again. It was just recently lifted in Feb, when staff and residents began receiving the vaccine. Mom's 2nd shot caused her to shake severely the next day, but otherwise, no adverse reactions. Her friend CC, had more severe side effects, but recovered.
Had we NOT moved Mom in when we did, I'd still be up there and funds would be running tight. So in that regard.....we made the right decision. Kudos to my sis on that one (I had wanted to wait until warmer weather!).
As of now, we're still trying to move Mom's couch out and her new lifty chair in. The 1st time we tried to do this, I broke my arm. Here's hoping we can get things moved in and out without any more damage to me, lol.
We're also still waiting for the day when I can have full access to her room again, to put things away, rearrange, and take stuff back to storage. I'm hoping that on March 22nd, we can move her Christmas stuff back to storage (not much; just maybe a couple boxes and bags) and bring her Easter items to her. I also plan to make monthly trips to see her, and hopefully one day the northern border will open so my sis can come see Mom and maybe even take some of her cherished items back to Canada.
But for now, we're still playing the waiting game.
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