June 6, 2018. Madison, Mississippi. This Summer.

Many people think we are nuts to be leaving our lovely hime and wonderful helpers to spend our summer in Nova Scotia. But Ken wants to go and son David agrees with Ken. Better for Ken to have something to work towards than deteriorating here in one place. So we are going and bit by bit we are putting together the puzzle pieces. Ken has already had three of the sessions with the therapist at the clinic. The exercises are specific for Parkinson's patients and the therapist spends all her time with them so Ken is comfortable doing the exercises. As part of the package, he is supposed to repeat the same exercises at home in the late afternoon. For three days he has done his exercises at home. He wants to go to Nov Scotia this summer. Our plan is ambitious. We will stay in Nova Scotia until October 7, when we have booked flights to St. Paul, Mn. where we will stay 2 nights until we leave on a cruise down the Mississippi River to celebrate our 60th anniversary. On October 23 we get off the boat in New Orleans, where we will stay until Christina and Molly arrive to enjoy the city for 2 days before they will drive us back to Jackson on October 27. Today I arranged to meet a lady from Earth Angels, a company that provides helpers for people like us. She is coming on the day after our arrival and will evaluate Ken's needs. And we must figure out how many hours a day Ken needs a helper. Our helper here, Kendria, thinks we need someone just we have here, which is 12 hours a day. We have had no trouble without our night helper. In addition, in a conversation with Ivan, the artist who has made a new sculpture for our yard, he mentioned a new doctor in town, who has established a new clinic treating Parkinson's patients using light lasers. I chatted with his wife today and Ken is busily reading up on the technique, which has is still in clinical trials. I feel sure that Ken will meet with this retired doctor from Moncton, who now lives at Summerville Beach. Our plans are ambitious but we are going to try. Our first step is to get on a Lear Jet July 19 and fly non stop to Halifax. Pretty nice. But expensive. Whew.

June 5, 2018. Madison, Mississippi. After The Rain.

I started to take a walk but as I walked across the room, Kendria called to say that she thought there was a storm coming. As I left out the front door, it was obvious. This was no time to take a walk. Winds were blowing hard and leaves were turning over, so being pragmatic, I turned around and came back into the house. Within two minutes the rains came. In the distance I could hear thunder. My timing was perfect. The weather forecast here in Jackson is mostly accurate so I looked up the weather and sure enough, the rains were to stop and by six o'clock, the temperature would be 78 and cloudy, which would be perfect for walking. We have had several days of hot dry weather so when I went walking after the storm the foliage looked sparkling. I walk along the same road every time. Today I saw blossoms blooming which were not there earlier in the week. All the grasses glistened and I spotted several birds taking a bath in the puddles on the side of the road. My walk after a heavy rain was delightful. I was not aware until now how beautiful the world seems after a rain. Now I know for the future. I also learned to check the weather forecast before leaving for a walk. The storm and the rains came up quickly so had I left 20 minutes earlier I would have been caught in the rain and heavy wind. Our area is loaded with big trees and bushes so walking in heavy wind is dangerous. I got lucky today.

June 4, 2018. Madison, Mississippi. Together Alone.

Tonight is the first night since early January that Ken and I are alone together in our house. We have had nurses or helpers every night. We might change our minds, but we have cancelled our night helper, at least for the moment. For the past few weeks I have been monitoring the activities of the night helper and decided that they really have little to do. Ken dresses himself in the morning and gets ready for bed at night. If he needs to get up to the bathroom he gets there himself. Often at night he will go to his comfortable chair in the TV room and read on his iPad but he gets up and down himself. They check to be sure his bottles of water or juice are full for the night but other than that, they don't have much to do. When we first arrived late in March, Ken needed help every time he walked anywhere but not anymore. Our night helpers were called several times every night. Not much sleep for them. But no more. we are cutting one cord. And we will see how Ken gets along with just me in the house. I am not really steady on my feel either so I know Ken is anxious. During the daytime, we will keep our helpers but for the moment, we will be alone together. And we like it like that.

June 3, 2018. Madison, Mississippi. Miss. Ruth.

Here in Mississippi, everyone calls me Miss.Ruth. Everyone. The helpers call me Miss.Ruth, whether the helper is 25 or 70. And every workman calls me Miss.Ruth. On the phone today when speaking with the owner of the company providing us with our helpers, called me Mrs. Dickie I was shocked. But then I realized that she had never seen me. Even the children of our friends call me Miss.Ruth. The children in Mississippi are taught to be polite as are the Texas children, but in Texas the children are taught to call adults by their proper surname, so I am called Mrs.Dickie by the children of our friends. But not in Mississippi. I am called Miss.Ruth by the young and the old. Even in a store, once I have given my credit card to the clerk checking me out I will be called me Miss.Ruth. I have seen it time and time again. When the family were here for the graduation, David commented about the people and their interaction with him. They were friendly and polite. Now they live in Texas where people are very friendly but David observed a higher level of graciousness in the Mississippi folks. We have always said that our friends who were born and raised in Alabama are the most polite of any of our friends. All our friends are polite and friendly but our Alabama friends top the list. David liked the behavior he heard here in Mississippi. It is interesting to note the use of Miss.Ruth to me. The term is not formal and not familiar. It is just a friendly term and I quite like it.

June 2, 2018. Madison, Mississippi. Swimming.

The afternoon heat was oppressive so instead of going for a walk I headed to the swimming pool. My swim was delightful. The last time I was swimming in a pool was when we lived at the condo just down the street, but since we moved into this subdivision in 2015, I had not yet visited our swimming pools. The reason is probably because we have never been here in hot weather. Yesterday at 4:00 the temperature was 93 degrees, perfect for swimming. Just a month ago my neighbor told me that the subdivision actually maintained two pool, one beside the club house and tennis courts and one closer to our home. The main pool is fancy and free form with hot tubs and bathroom facilities with many tables and chairs and club house and exercise room. The one close to us is a plain rectangle, with a few chairs and tables on the deck. The facility is perfect for me because the pool is deep. I broke a swimming rule. I went swimming alone. Not a soul was there so I enjoyed my solitude. The pool is private and shaded and well maintained. No bugs or leaves were in the pool so I did my exercises in the deep water and enjoyed myself. The pool is not big but big enough for me. I loved every minute I have been swimming all my life but now I have issues. My eyes cause problems when I put my head under water so I don't do it. And I discovered that my right hip joint hurts when I swim breast stroke. Interesting. Last summer at the cottage I did not swim. I was fearful of not being able to get out of the water, so I have not been swimming for a long time. But yesterday it was perfect with hot weather and full sunshine and the pool by myself. I will swim tomorrow too but hope other folks are there too. Swimming alone is breaking the rules.

June 1, 2018. Madison, Mississippi. The Men In the House.

For two days in a row, our house had men wandering our bedroom and bathroom installing the new air conditioning system. For three mornings I had trouble dressing. They arrived early while I was still in my robe and nightshirt and so I was stuck. I could have taken clothes and dressed in the powder room but the chairs in our closet had moved so I was unable to access my drawers. For two days I wore the same clothes, which was my night shirt and robe. They must think I always wear my robe at home. I had my nap while they were coming and going, ignoring me the whole time. I wanted to go for a walk so yesterday I brought clothes into the bedroom to dress, with my back to the door. The workmen were either in the attic or outside, so I felt that I was safe to dress. But I was wrong. While I was trying to get on my underwear a man walked into the bedroom and walked into the bathroom and then up the ladder to the attic. I assumed he had not seen me because he said not a word. I had been careful to put on underpants and jeans but just at the time when my robe and nightshirt was removed, the footsteps came. I ignored him and kept on dressing. Of course, when you try to rush is when you slow down. I did laugh. Getting dressed in my home has been difficult. The first day I washed my face and brushed my teeth while they were busily working. I knew they had to come today to clean up and install a vent cover but I made sure to shower immediately upon awaking, but sure enough, the man came. Fortunately, Kendria told them I was in the shower so they left. Unfortunately they have not returned to complete the task. But at least I was able to shower. Having men wandering in and out of your bedroom and bath and closet makes life difficult. But we are done now, except for one small task. And a good thing too. I do not wish to wear my robe every day all day.

May 31, 2018. Madison, Mississippi. The New Air Conditioning.

Ken and I have never lived in Mississippi in the summer. In a normal year, we would be right now in Texas, followed by our summer in Nova Scotia. But now we are here where today the temperature was 95. We had noticed in the winter that the heat was less in the bedroom and TV room which was fine as we prefer the bedroom to be cooler but that does not work for the air-conditioning. As soon as the temperature went up, our bedroom was noticeably warmer than the rest of the house. We asked out ac man to see if something could be done. He tested and then brought two other folks. They all agreed with us. The bedroom and TV room are warmer than the rest of the house. When the house was built, two ac systems were installed, one for the lower level and one for the main floor. The problem is that the house is wide so by the time the cool air gets to the bedroom, it is warmer than the breakfast room. According to the experts, a third system should have been installed, serving the bedroom and TV room. In addition, they noted no insulation at all in the TV room. On the plans, the little room is shown as a porch but at some point, it was enclosed and someone forgot to add insulation. How the former owners put up with a warm bedroom I will never know. The solution was to install a new system. The men started work on Wednesday morning. By this afternoon it was running. They have a little cleaning up to do but the system works beautifully. Now when we walk into our bedroom it is not warmer than the rest of the house and we can keep the main part of the house warmer. Ken is happy. Now we must pay the bill.