I hate to be always sharing bad news - but as I sit here at my computer I am waiting until it is not-too-early to call my daughter.  Snow squall in the early evening yesterday and she was rear-ended.  Car smashed up.  The last I heard from her she was at the hospital to have her neck and back checked - her man was with her - she didn't want us to come over.  She assured us that getting checked was a precaution; that she would be going home after she saw a doctor, or had x-rays, or whatever.  I'm still anxious.  That girl has one problem after another.  It isn't fair. 

My cold seems to be over now.   Sunshine today.   And its Sunday - after I hear from Seelergirl I'm off to church.  I'll go out to her place this afternoon.

Sending calming, comforting thoughts your way seeler.  It is hard when we 'don't know'.  

Please let us know how this situation plays out for her and you! 

First off, good vibes to seeler and her family and others who have talked about issues upthread.

Got a date to meet with CCAC (CCACs are agencies that coordinate home and longterm care in Ontario) about my father. His dementia isn't getting any better and may be worsening. To top it off, he had a melanoma removed from his back and we are awaiting word on whether it spread. We're hoping they will get him on a priority list of LTC but we shall see.

It would be easier if he had appointed a single PoA but he made all three of us (I have two brothers) PoA so we all need to be in on all the decisions. I would rather it was one of us as a "point man" with the necessary powers consulting the others as needed. With my sister-in-law in longterm care and me working for a homecare company, we at least know more about the field than many families going into this.

Mendalla

Sorry to hear that Seeler.  I imagine that since she went to the hospital to be checked out, she'll be pretty sore for a while.  Hopefully that's all that it is though!

Mendalla, sorry to hear about your father.  I hope the process goes smoothly for the 3 of you and you have similar ideas as to what's best for him.

I had a blue evening last night. My own fault tho. I got stopped at a check stop coming home from a church meeting. Turns out my liscense expired in |Jan. I certianly didn't know.

Ironically I had my brakes fixed yesterday and had spent all day with a loaner car-dealer copied my liscence info down but also didn't check expiry.

Anyhow cop suggested I call someone. Diffiulty arose when I realized I'd need 2 people-one to drive my car and one to drive the driver home.

I insted asked to pull into the parking lot across the road.

Cop did offer me a ride home-but I was feeling upset enough at that point that i declined.

He was concerned about the cold. I wasn't as I pulled on my (edmonton) winer coat, hat and gloves.

So today I'll bike to church and tomorrow renew my liscense and pay the fine.

Feeling blue was partly due to my stupidity and partly feeling lonely and not wanting to bother 2 people.

I'm surprised he wouldn't let you just drive home, it's not like it was a big safety issue or something.

No driving home as I don't have a lisense-tho I have to admit I'm tempted to go and drive the van home. It's only a few k. But the consequences of getting caught are high.

weighed against the low likelihood of getting caught-I've driven since Jan

anyhow glad it happened on weekend and not on a work day and I could have been out of town.

Remember when I was stopped in my pjamas? and couldn't find liscence? It was expeired then!

Tabitha, I realized that my drivers license and plate had expired a week after it had. I had been driving all week. (it expired when I was in san francisco).

 I knew that I could have driven on the sat morning to the licensing agent, but, instead asked my oldest son to take me.  

The risk is not just worth the reward.  If someone were to hit you, you would still be an uninsured driver, etc.....

I get that sense of dang, who do I call....partially due to embarassment for me.

My license was alo lost once due to non-payment of a ticket (again related to travelling and not opening , remembering to do stuff.)

Lift up your spirits, it is part of the human experience to kick ourselves...especially those of us who pride ourselves on our independence and capabilities

We all make mistakes - get busy - don't get around to keeping our official lives in order. It does tend to make us feel a bit foolish.

It was the big day and one of my young was going to take the driving test.  Before leaving home we did the 'check' we are supposed to do every time we use a car - tyres, etc.I can't actually remember the rest!  Lo and behold the insurance had run out several weeks earlier.  We left early, parked a block from the office and I walked in and renewed.  Then we returned and parked outside the office and my kid went in to wait for the tester!

Oh boo Tabitha - it happened to my son also - he, being a young man, and meeting a cranky cop, got charged with driving without a license, as well as having to call us to go get him, late at night.  He did go next day for renewal - it was his first time having to renew - and was later able to show in court that he'd taken prompt responsible action & the charge was dropped - he still had to pay a fine though.   I was telling the tale at work, and one of my collegues went & checked her license - and sure enough - expired!! 

Hope your daughter is fine seeler - wrap yourself up in your prayer shawl today. 

Mendalla - yes, those multiple POAs are troublesome; is he still capable to assign POA? (it's the lowest test of capacity, so possibly he may be).  I ask because if so, perhaps he could do a new one that facilitates decision making.  Or sometimes the other parties can submit a notarized letter authorizing just one of you to be primary decision maker/contact person. 

Hope your meeting went well Beloved!

I arrived at church this morning to a nice surprise. Yesterday there was a concert in the sanctuary & so it was all reconfigured with scattered tables & chairs - so they left it that way for today's worship.  It was really nice, and there was much more social interaction than usual.  I like to step out of the ordinary sometimes & see what happens!

Carolla, what a treat re church setup.  I too enjoy those moments it allows for discoveries of new ways of being as well as what we value that we are missing.

Ageism and sexism at work on the plus for Tabitha and maybe not so much for your son, Carolla.  ...or maybe..just the difference between someone in a good mood and as you say a cranky one.   My son paid heavily for just paying a ticket instead of going and making a plea of notguility on a charge...sigh.

Mendella/Carolla, i thought that with my brother and i both having POA that either of us could make decisions.  Are you stating that we both have to make the decision?

ps. mendella, sorry to hear about your father's decline. As I think others have mentioned, I am now moving into the space of most of our parents are gone...and I am sure the next step will be the loss of friends.

pinga - I believe it's in the wording that's used - appointing " jointly" which I think means both must decide/sign etc. or "severally" which I think permits either to do so.  But I may be mistaken - will have to look that up to clarify. 

Ah yes - here it is -  copied from:  http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/family/pgt/livingwillqa.pdf

Pinga - ask Qwerty or some lawyer, but I think it would depend upon the wording of the PoA - is it John, Jim and Jerry - or John, Jim or Jerry?   Does it say 'jointly' or 'individually'?    Something like a joint account - some are either/or and some are both signatures or two of three.    Seelerman's and my joint account either of us can access.  The bowling club's account requires any two out of three possible signatures.

Seelerman and I drove to Ontario, all around the place for two weeks, and back home - to discover a bit later that our car registration had expired four months previous  (that year NB was expermenting with not sending out notices of expiry date.  Another time I got stopped for speeding and discovered that my registration had expired a few days before.  The cop not only let me off with a warning for going 70 in a 50 zone, but let me drive the few blocks to the registration office.  My granddaughter was little then and with me in the car.  The next day she told her mother,  "Don't drive too fast going down this hill.  Yesterday a police man stopped Grammy and told her where to go."

Seelergirl is stiff and sore but otherwise ok.  The Emergency room was busy last night and she was considered low priority, so one of the nurses checked her, advised hot and cold compresses, and sent her home.  She is feeling ok today - but will call her doctor tomorrow.  I advised her to 'not be too nice' about the other guy's insurance - she may need physio in the future.  Meanwhile her car can be driven but will need extensive repairs (or a write-off - how much should she spend on an old car).

oh, seeler, so much going on. Glad she is ok, but I am sure she feels stuff accumulating. Here's hoping that the insured vlaue is worth more than the car actually was and she can come out ahead.  Unlikely,but, we ca hope.

thanks folks, pulling out the POA.

So I did bike to church and then back to the van (It's 1/2 way between here and church). I needed things out of it-bike lock, bike keys, sunglasses but finally just said the heck with it and drove it the 3 k home.

I wasn't uninusred Pinga-my insurance is upto date.

Not ideal but done and I'll bike tomorrow to get liscense renewed.

aah, tabitha, i have always been concerned about if my license experes then is my insurance still valid as my basic condition of being a licensed driver is no longer valid. I have never checked the legaility of it, but, you hear about folks who drive after their license is suspended and so their insurance is invalid. I'm just paranoid on insurance and risk.

Went to see Enemy this afternoon. Weirdest movie ever!

But I keep thinking about it. What did I miss? 

Wow, what a time for seeler girl - hope all will be alright for her.

Mendella - a difficult journey for you with your dad. He is lucky to have you to travel it with him. Take care of yourself as you care for him.

Never heard of Enemy, Pardox3.  an erotic thriller? lol.

I have watched 2 guns today, and another action film, plus got a bunch of tidying done....but not the work stuff that i intended.

Tabitha, thinking of your expired license story - it is one you hear of from many. We need some kind of a "renew license alarm".

Church meeting went well. Lasted til almost 4 pm, though. I am exhausted. Glad it is over. Glad I am now Past Chair instead of Chair:). Formed an ad hoc committee to fact find several options for dealing with budget deficit. Road ahead of difficult decisions.

Diminishing congregation with smaller financial and people resources, and the path to the door is not beaten down by new or younger persons. Similar story to many churches across the country. I am left wondering why church has to be so challenging and difficult and sad?

sorry about that beloved, but, i think you deserve a break.  Glad you did your hard work

Thanks Pinga, it will be what it will be. Glad you got your tidying done :)

As others have said, it was basically a baptism without the water.  All friends and family were invited to stand at the front while Max was dedicated, so I was very glad that I went and felt like my presence was valued.

tonight, i have been working on some of my plans for post-retirement.

It is a good thing to do, and timely and keeps me focussed on positive plans.

I also need to kick into gear some other plans for the summer, as the opportunity is there to meet up with some folks in vancouver...so much fun to finally meet somegal and ina and well, so many of you folks who live that way.  hoping i can figure out a roadtrip loop to hit a few of the BC folks.

I am thankful for this room, for the people who have posted over the years, for the lurkers and laughers.

Good morning all!

Sounds like a lot of exciting things going on in your world and life Pinga.  Retirement - for some the transition is easy, and for others it is a little more challenging . . . now that hubby has been retired for soon to be two years - I love retirement.  My only sadness is that my health issues have kept us from doing a lot of things we had hoped to do in our retirement - but I am looking forward to continued healing, and being able to do those things in the months and years ahead.

Wonderful that you get to go meet up with some Wondercafers :).

It is a beautiful sunny morning here - although -18 C.  I know spring has to arrive soon,but we are predicted cooler than normal temperature for a bit yet.  On one of the news stations they reported that this has been one of the coldest overal winters Manitoba has experienced.  I know it is true for this Manitoban.  While we always get more snow in March, April, and sometimes even May (doesn't last, but I remember one weekend when we had company the long weekend and we had snow that stayed the whole time they were here).  But, usually we have a time of melting in March - even if it gets cold and we get more snow, we have water running at some point in March.  This year - none!  I'm hoping April.  We have so much snow that if it goes quickly we are going to have flooding in the streets as the drains to the sewers will still be frozen.  Our city workers have worked so hard this winter - we have had so many breaks because of the freezing temperatures, they have had to work in many -40 days and nights to fix problems.  Don't envy their job.

Pinga mentioned retirement above . . . and I think of the transition that is for many.

And it reminded me of the transition we are all going through here at Wondercafe.  June is coming much too quickly :)

How is everyone doing with this?

I am working it through Beloved. Finding myself checking into Wondercafe quite often right now. 

I'm checking more often and posting more often.  I have always been a lurker, but have posted in spurts over the years.  I realise that I want to be remembered... I want to feel like I 'belong' on the new forum...  I want people to be interested in meeting me if ever there was a wondergathering that I could attend...

Hilary, I would love to meet you sometime!  I think with some free travelling time it would be fairly easy to arrange :)

I'll send you a facebook message, chemgal, now that I know your location more specifically (from your gardening thread).  I will be there for a few days in June.

Dear Doctor,

Thanks for not telling us you were going on vacation for two weeks right after Dad had the CT you referred him for, leaving us all hanging for the results.

*facepalm*

Mendalla

Mendalla, can you make an appointment with someone else who would also have the results?

Oh Mendalla . . . how frustrating.  Have you researched any avenues of possibly being able to get results of the CT through another doctor.  Here I can go to my clinic and any doctor in the clinic can access my test results - jus wondering?

How frustrating Mendalla. Is no-one covering for the doc?

Waiting for test results can be the worst part of a medical health journey . . . wishing you peace and strength as you go through this journey with your dad.

Oh Mendalla - that must be so upsetting - waiting for results.  The system is sadly broken (in my opinion).  I once had a scan and then 'my' doc left town without specifying who should take over his patients.  It took me EIGHT MONTHS to get the results!   

oh geez - that sucks Mendalla.  Waiting is hard. 

Mendella, hoping you can find a way for the results to get to you.  Carolla said it though, waiting is hard.

Greetings!

Happy Thursday morning everyone!  We have made it over half way through the week.  Some will breathe a sigh of relief, and others will wonder why time is going so quickly.

Whatever you are up to today . . . may there be a bounce in your step, a smile on your face, and a song in your heart.  If life circumstances are not permitting those things in your life, maybe try just a little bounce, even if you don't feel like bouncing, try a little smile, even if your heart isn't in it, and think of a song that gives you peace.  These things won't make crappy life circumstances go away, but there is a smidgeon of a chance they may make a little difference in how you feel.

I'm going to try to bounce a bit, I'm going to try to smile at everyone I see, and I'm going to come up with a special song that lifts me up.  The sun is shining, the temperature is cool, and I'm just about ready to face the day!  Hope yours is great!

Hope, peace, joy, love . . .

Yesterday, a customer told me that I always look so happy.  He asked my secret... I gave a work-appropriate response about enjoying my job, but what I really wanted to say was "fake it 'til you make it"!

I appreciate the reminder to keep the smile on my face, even if I'm not feeling it.

Isn't that funny, Hilary, that is exacty what I was going to post above - "fake it til you make it".

And based on your avatar pic I think your customer is right :)

IS SEELER SICK?

Good question, CH.  I don't know . . . but she hasn't posted here for a few days.