Mother-in-law

Florence, my mother-in-law, has really had a tough time lately. From Easter Sunday until June 3 she was in the hospital and then in a nursing/rehab facility. She was very weak and when she got home she had very little motivation to do anything. You have to understand, she is a fighter but she had never had a struggle like this since her stroke about 10 years ago - yes, she is half-paralyzed on top of it all. I have great respect for Flo - she is strong beyond words (and her words can be very strong too) -- and how she has handled being disabled these last years; she has a life and goes zooming around in her scooter visiting people, playing bingo and pochino. But now she has another challenge before her: she must build up her strength (she has a CNA each a.m. and another for a short time in the evening - plus an RN to set up her meds, do BP, etc... - plus a physical therapist: she hates all these people in her home but they are there to help her) and get back to her life. It has been very rough for her but she is turning the corner and starting to do things for herself. We are so happy for her that she has started onto the road to recovery and bingo games!

Joke for the Day: My wife, a real estate agent, wrote an ad for a house she was listing. The house had a second-floor suite that could be accessed using a lift chair that slid along the staircase. Quickly describing this feature, she inadvertently made it sound even more attractive: "Mother-in-law suite comes with an electric chair."

(Just joking, Flo - she has a great sense of humor)

Cartoon and joke provided by: Reader's Digest

Photo of Florence -- Christmas 2007