Mum came to stay for a week. DB and I had bought her an ultralight carbon fibre rollator for her birthday present, and it was fantastic. Bright red, superbly styled, turns on a sixpence, and really is the lightest rollator in the world. It's by ByAcre, a Danish company, and it is... amazing. She loves it!
The week passed quickly, in a good way. We try and make these visits feel like "normal", so we spend a lot of time just doing normal stuff, as if Mum has popped in from across town. We drink a lot of team chat a lot, do a bit of shopping, watch a bit of TV, and go out occasionally.
This time we caught up with a couple of uncles and an aunt-in-law while Mum was here, and that was very enjoyable. We're very grateful that Uncle C and Auntie P came over, it's a bit of a trek for them. Separately, our lovely cousin and his equally lovely wfire popped in to say hello.
Mum is struggling with the stairs, so we are looking at accelerating our plans for installing a lift. There will be a time when she won't be able to come and stay any more, so we want to make the intervening time as visitable as possible.
We played lots of Scrabble. The RNIB version, with large tiles which sit securely on the board, is fantastic. We all have sets now. Mum plays most days with one of the other residents at her Home, and it's really made a difference to her. I'm so happy that I suggested a game when she was last here.
DB and I are off to see Mum again this week, and we're staying at a local place (like an Air B&B, but direct). We have two places that we favour, one near where Mum lives now and one near where she used to live (when Dad was still alive). This particular place, we have stayed at many times over the last few years, the hosts are wonderful. There is a downstairs bedroom and bathroom, so Mum can come to stay overnight as well, and we're hoping she'll do that this time. It extends the time we get to see her, and again we can do "normal" things together.
