Date night!

Last night TW decided we'd go see a movie tonight, something we haven't done since January. We settled on The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which was very well done - enjoyed the cinematography and most of the characterizations. Caspian was still something of a cipher, but we quite liked Lucy and Edmund, and I loved Reepicheep! Eustace was also very good.

After the movie (and a sidetrip to pick up a Christmas present), we went to a nearby diner for dinner. I even got a free milkshake to go w/ my burger, courtesy of my movie ticket stub. We'd have gone there anyway, but it was nice to get a little freebie. TW and I had a bit of a theological discussion about death & dying, but it wasn't morbid; more a "wonder if it's like this..." discussion.

Unfortunately, he wasn't feeling too well even when we left the house, so he went to bed as soon as we got home. We're hoping a good night's sleep will take care of whatever it was.

Waiting for a call

TW's been calling home daily since Sunday, checking on his mom. I doubt she'll be with us much longer: she's gotten so weak they don't even try to get her out of bed, just shift her so she doesn't get bed sores, and when TW calls, they have to hold the phone for her. TW's brother said she sleeps pretty much 24/7 now, and no longer eats - just takes a bit of one of those nutrition drinks. TW says when he's talked to her, he's heard her making little grunts of pain. I wonder how soon God will take her Home; it breaks my heart to know she's suffering.

This could be a really sucky Christmas

I've been bracing myself for the pain of our first Christmas without Mom. The rest of us will all be together, but that gaping, Mom-sized hole is gonna be raw.

TW called home earlier this afternoon to let his brother know we were planning to come up for another visit next weekend, but he waved us off. MuMu is more & more out of it (she asked TW, again, how the kids are), so I guess P thinks she won't know us if we visit. From what TW relayed, it sounds like MuMu's decline is accelerating; last week, just making the short trip to the bathroom tired her enough that she needed oxygen for 5 or 10 minutes before returning to her recliner. She's weak, she's in pain, and she's outlasted the 3-6 months the docs gave her when they diagnosed her terminal cancer 8 months ago.

This could affect our plans to spend Christmas with my family - they live in the midwest, while MuMu & P live 5 or 6 hours' drive northeast of us. Depending on how much longer God gives MuMu, we might end up going north for a funeral before going west for Christmas (or post-Christmas), or cutting our midwest trip short to head back east for a funeral. Or MuMu might hang in there until after New Year's. As the Russian proverb says, God knows and he ain't tellin'! (OK, so it's a colloquial translation, but it made Mom laugh.)

Pray for us all - it's been a helluva year.