CAREGIVING: I guess it is time to get back to writing something. I have to admit I just haven’t had the energy to do much of anything extra. So, I needed a little break.
Memorial Day was a true holiday for us. One obvious reason is that Hampden’s one and only parade passes a few feet from our house. The town comes by our viewing stand. But the bigger reason is that one year ago Kathy was rushed to the hospital with pneumonia and it looked like we were saying goodbye. Kathy’s sisters Trisha and Mary travelled here to help out and Kathy managed to pull through it. With the help of the extended team she is probably in better shape now than a year ago.
Last year we still had the stair chairlift. Kathy was able to watch it from the front porch. I did think about rolling her to the mysterious door that opens onto our porch roof. Instead we just rolled her up to the window in front of her bed and she was able to see and hear everything. I filmed a video of all 9 1/2 minutes from the roof with my phone. I love small towns.
In case you are wondering, After the color guard the first group of folks are the three town selectmen. The town priest and ministers follow them. The Minnechaug Regional High School Band follows. We have a regional school system that we share with the town of Wilbraham. I thought the band sounded great. There were representatives from the Hampden Senior Center, The Lion’s Club, various scouts; cub, boy and girl; dance schools and baseball and soccer teams. The Hampden Volunteer Fire Department and Hampden Police Department bring up the rear. Towards the end you may hear some old planes fly over. Different years we have had actual floats and groups of horses and agricultural themed things. A number of years ago we used to get flyovers of A10 Warthogs from the nearby Air Force base. Those were fun because they could come in low and slow. They really snuck up on you.
Kathy seemed to enjoy it. I was able to show the video on our television for the aides that came later in the day. It probably isn’t realistic to expect Kathy to see another one of these extravaganzas. But, you never know.