Stuff for November

Keeping a comfortable temperature in the house has grown into a full time job. Comfortable for a woman in her mid-50s and comfortable for a woman in her early 90s is called polar opposites.
My thermostat has been turned on high for about two years. I can't stand to wear sweatshirts any more and even when the temperatures dip below freezing, I like the coolness on my skin.
Mom, however, would like the entire house to be about 85 degrees and her bathroom about 90 degrees.
So, I have to monitor the thermostat constantly because Mom, just like the small child she has become, will sneak over to it and turn it up. I won't notice until the sweat starts pouring off me and then realize she's got it up to 80 degrees. Whew!
So I turn it back down to 70 degrees and sneak back to whatever I was doing.
When Mom says she's cold, I usually tell her to get a sweater. And if she really wants to make me feel guilty, she gets her blanket and covers up to her neck and then to top it off, the dog gets in her lap and they both look at me with big ol' sorry looking eyes. Sometimes I ignore them, but usually I give in and turn up the thermostat and then put on a lighter t-shirt.
Catholic Community Services will begin to send a part-time caregiver next Wednesday. She can be here for almost 4 hours a week.
It's a little weird to think that a stranger will come into the house to take care of Mom. Not that she will have to do anything complicated, but it's just the thought. I have no expectations of this caregiver, other than she better be very nice to Mom. And she better be respectful of me and Mom and our home and how we do things here. OK, I guess I do have some expectations after all.
CCS was assigned to us by the local Area on Aging. Although CCS has been very professional, the caseworker from the aging agency I think is plain incompetent. Thank God I won't have to deal with her very often.
And I have called the attorney working on how to deal with Mom's farmland so many times I've lost count. I sent him a lot of paperwork to work through, but that was a month and a half ago. Now it's almost Thanksgiving and he still hasn't done anything. Why are attorneys like that?
And God continues to work in my life. A dear friend from Woodland, who is raising a physically challenged son with his wife and daughters reminded me of how God is working in our lives and how blessed I am to have each day that God gives me. He really put things in better perspective for me and I appreciate it so much. He is one of my many angels in my life.
So thank you God, for all your gifts.