Well, there must have been a major celestial alignment 'cuz I was able to get out and interview the director and the right-hand-woman of the agency I've been thinking about hiring.

It turned out very well, with most of my questions answered to my satisfaction. I guess the remainder of them have more to do with eventualities than anything else. ...like, will we find a good fit? ...will we feel comfortable with help in the house? etc.

Right now the director will be surveying her available crew to see who thinks they would be a likely fit---interests, schedule, and skills, etc. Next week we are to make an appointment to meet at my house (yikes! I shoulda hired a maid first!!) so she can meet me and my mom, and everyone can think it over a bit more.

If it all seems good we'll start with Friday mornings. Eventually, I would like to have one whole day per week completely free to do whatever I've needed to catch up on for so long...and hopefully to play a little, too. If that can be achieved, I sorely would like to get a weekend "free" every once in a blue moon---with hubby, or with the children (or both, of course! )

I'm feeling hopeful.

This lady also told me of a particular veteran's benefit of which I was unaware. With any luck we may qualify! The amount is greater now, but as of 2005, widows of veterans of foreign war owning less than a certain level of assets are qualified to recieve nearly $1000 per month stippend to be used expressly for these sorts of services! ...Lord, please let it be true...

Anyway, I just wanted to share some upbeat news.
My back seems to be mostly on the mend, but now that I am feeling a good bit better I keep finding myself almost getting hurt again. Because the pain is fading I forget, so I get moving too fast or I change directions too abruptly.

Mom seems to be better, too. Looks like she wanted to make a liar out of me to the ER doc...but that's par for the course, eh? At least she is stronger and more alert--even if it did cost us a whole day in the ER

Well, "onward and upward!" right? Please share your ideas about this process of integrating new help into your home!
I'm thinking we are on the right track.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mariabee,

(Yawn)...let's see if the fingers are awake yet. ...well, maybe.

Friday before last the agency I hired sent over a young woman (32) to help out in the morning, so that she could get a feel for things and we could meet one another. That worked out really well. I was so pleased. She treated Mom so sweetly and she is a hard worker (self-motivated, even). So, I have decided to continue having her in on Friday mornings for a while to see whether things will continue this way---I want all concerned parties to feel happy and confortable with the arrangement. Mom really likes her a lot. I believe she was even tearing up when our lady had to leave that afternoon.

This Friday turned out well, too...but gracious sakes, it sure started out rocky! I had to work this Friday morning so our helper needed to be here by 7:30, as I needed to depart by 8:00 a.m. To make a long story short, at 8:45 the helper finally had arrived! I had called her home, her cell, the agency... The director was even on her way to my house to take the helper's place since we couldn't find her. Turns out she had had a flat!!!! and lost track of time while it was being changed!

I was goin' crazy, cuz, the folks who hire me pay me BIG BUCKS to administer some very special tests, and the people I test often have a plane to catch immediately after their testing is finished---to places like Kazakhstan. If they miss their flights because I am running late...well, it is not pretty (nor cheap, might I add).

...so, I finally got to work (an hour late) to begin a four-hour series of tests; made my uncomfortable appologies, and began. When I opened the test package I discovered that the certifying authority had sent the wrong tests! So now, everyone in the room is sitting around like dummies thinking, "What the heck are we all doing here, anyway?" This was a Fire Drill to beat all Fire Drills! ...but, at least it saved me from being the only bad egg in the basket. Now my candidate will have to drive 8 hours back to his home, and won't be able to retest for another 6 weeks---poor guy. He must be thinking, "These folks are PRO-fessionals!?!?!?"

So, within an hour I went from being an hour late, to having 4 free hours on my hands--go figure. I headed back towards the house and on the way I recalled that mom's sheets were getting a bit thread-bare. So I stopped off to shop for sheets for Mom and ended up buying a pretty rug for the bathroom and a lovely quilt, too. It felt nice to do a little leisurely shopping (what a concept!). As I continued towards the house (my job is an hour away from home), I remembered the VA documents I had been gathering on my desk. Since I had someone sitting with Mom, I figured it would be the perfect opportunity to go visit the VA office and get the ball rolling on her application for Aid and Attendance benefits. ...and that's what I did.

Everything worked out beautifully. The only thing I have to add to our VA application at this point is a letter from my mother's doctor explaining the extent of her needs and disabilities; which I hope to accomplish early next week. Mom really enjoyed her new friend and was trying to make sure we had an extra bed for her. Mom really hates to see our helper leave!

So, all in all, I call it a WIN. What do you think? ...but I WILL have to impress upon SOMEONE that FRIDAYS are NOT the day to choose to be LATE

Maria, I just re read my post, I meant you aren't scamming me about your back. I believe you if you say it is better. I'm so sorry. My proof reading sklls leave a lot to the imagination. Still think a lot of us would remember to keep care of our backs if we wore a back belt.

mariabee, take good care of that back. sure hope your help works out . maybe someday you will be a lady of leisure.i hope the funds come thrugh for helping pay. our vets deserve help. god bless them all.

So glad for you and your Mom that things are looking better, and you are scamming me about your back. You might want to think about a back belt. I don't know if they really prevent injury, but they often remind a person to be careful.

Thanks Bobcat,

As I was saying, it is quite a lot improved. But I keep forgetting to take it easy because the pain has faded quite a bit. I still am hurting myself here and there by moving too abruptly, etc. ...but if you can forget to be careful, that must be a good sign!

All that is great news Maria,
Now. How is your back . Don't mean to bring it up and just shush me, ok. Hope it was some short term reminder, that we can only do so much, but baby, it worried me.