Hello ladies!

I haven't visited this site in over a year, but it's the middle of the night and I'm thinking of you all and how you helped me through some very difficult times. My mom has been in a private care facility for 2 years now and she is thriving despite her memory loss. My husband and I will be leaving Arizona for North Carolina in a month to be closer to my grown children and grandchildren. Just when I think I'm going okay, the tears start to fall again. She has no idea I am moving, no reason to tell her...as she will forget it within minutes, or it may upset her. No matter how often I see her, she greets me as if I've been away for a while and she is always happy to see me. The people that care for her are INCREDIBLE. The name of the facility is the Barton House in Scottsdale, AZ. I am so grateful to my late father for seeing that mom would be financially cared for, for the rest of her life. This place has become a wonderful home for her, and I know she is loved and cared for each and every day. We need many more facilities like this. If you google Barton House in Scottsdale, you will be able to see get information about it and see wonderful pictures of the ladies that have become and extended family to my mom and our family. I am fortunate to be able to leave mom in such a loving facility with my brother and his family livng close by to visit often. It's been five years since we moved here from Chicago to care for my parents. Dad's been gone for three years. It's been an incredible journey and I'm looking forward to living in the mountains for a while. I'll be coming back often to visit mama, but while I'm away, I am comforted by the knowledge that she has found a loving environment she now calls "home." Thank you for all of your support!
Love and blessings to you all.
Kathleen

Hi Kathleen....I am a relative newbie around here, so I didn't know your story. I was just wondering where in NC you will be going to. For the time being that is where I am while hubby and I take care of my mom. You can pm me if you don't want to put it out there.

Kathleen, good to hear from you however long it has been. I remember when you were so strugling to get your mother's meds straightened out and find a good place for her. It is a wonderful thing to find one where you can have such confidence. Still you probably would stay if your brother wasn't close at hand.

What a long strange journey from Chicago to the Arizona and now to the NC mountains!! I love that area. Terrific that you will have time to share it as a loving grandmother instead of being the worried daughter.

Please keep coming by. What you have learned by experience goes a long way to helping others facing a similar stage in life. Best wishes.

Bobcat.