HAPPY, HEALTHY and SAFE

HAPPY HEALTHY AND SAFE
 
“Mom, we want you to be Happy, Healthy and Safe.”
She scrunched up her face in a mixture of confusion, mistrust and fear. She didn’t like this conversation.  It was an intervention we dreaded. Making a move from being independent and living on your own when you are 86 to a situation where caretakers are required is a difficult transition. 
Difficult for my mom. 
Difficult for her children. 

The odd mixture of confusion and fear visited me as well.  Guilt joined right in.

Emotionally, my heart wants my mom to be strong, beautiful and sound minded until she is 100.   

Logically, my mind understands the small frail woman before me needs help.

Her driving has become a rotation of accidents, body shops, insurance rate hikes and relief that no one was hurt. 

Her falls are becoming more and more frequent as evident by the swollen green and blue bump on her forehead. 

Her memory sways like a breeze blowing through – at times gentle and kind with the sweet smell of freshness and at times as if a harsh wind has cleared any signs of her life from just moments before. Names are lost, appointments missed, bills are not paid. 

I want her to be Happy, Healthy and Safe.
That has become my mantra. 
     Happy, Healthy and Safe. 
     Happy, Healthy and Safe. 
In the weeks after that initial intervention conversation, we visited a variety of retirement facilities and signed a contract with one. 

The process of separating her life into boxes of KEEP, DONATE and THROW AWAY was both physically and emotionally painful.  There were clothes three sizes too big for her shrunken frame.  Dishes and a tea pot collection from my grandmothers.  Photos of my parents laughing when they were young, carefree and dating.  My dad’s military records that have been tucked away since 2005 when he passed. 

I wore gloves to keep my hands from being cut and bruised by the papers, boxes and cleaning supplies. 
But, there was nothing to protect my heart as I relived the memories of my mom as we invaded her life. 

The house was empty as I walked out the door and down the sidewalk past the "For Sale" sign. 

Happy, Healthy and Safe. 
I know her new environment is just that. 
I know it is the right thing to do. 
I know it is necessary. 
I also know there is no going back into that home and the space where my mom was the mom I remember.

     Happy Healthy and Safe. 
     Happy Healthy and Safe.
Isn’t that what we all want?  Isn’t that what we all need? 

I wish this for my friends, my community and the world.
 I wish this for my family.
I wish this for myself.
And I wish this for my Mom.
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Pennie’s Life Lesson:
       “We all want and need to be
         Happy, Healthy and Safe.” 
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My intent in sharing this with you is to encourage you to do all you can to ensure that YOU and your loved ones are Happy, Healthy and Safe.  

YOUR TURN - Share your thoughts and experiences relating to this post in a comment below.  And please feel free to email me  at:
                [email protected]. 
                          Thank you!  
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                 Copyright © 2013-2017 Pennie Hunt
         This was written and produced by Pennie Hunt.
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Pennie Heart to Heart -
​ Happy Healthy and Safe