If there was one thing I never figured would happen to me, it’s that I would wind up in assisted living.
For one thing, it’s expensive. The cost here is significantly more than my pretax annual income in my career as a poorly paid journalist.
For another, I didn’t really have a choice as to where I would go. My wife has been residing in the memory care unit at The Canopy at Westridge since last February, so there really wasn’t anywhere else I was going to go.
One problem is that Nicole is angry to be here. When she moved in last February, she was doing very badly, but she improved some with the help of a daily routine and has yet to get much worse. Our daughter Pauline has power of attorney and asks how we could let her go home now when she migjht get worse at any time.
So I lived alone at home for nearly 10 months, visiting Nicole when I could and trying to finish two novels I had been writing. Then in early December, I let Pauline talk me into moving into The Canopy in the other end of the building from Nicole. She isn’t happy that I’m here, largely because me not being at home makes it less likely she will get to go home.
Being here has been good for my health. Simply eating the meals they serve and hardly snacking at all, I have lost 26 pounds in two months and gotten my blood sugar completely under control.
That’s good, but I’m not sleeping well and that bothers me. I have conversations at dinnertime and I see Nicole most afternoons.
It’s sort of a strange life, one I never really expected. I feel old.
But hey, I’m 76 and it could be a lot worse.
Wow, big change for you. It sounds aspects of the transition have felt rocky, but I’m so glad you’ve seen improvements in your health and that Nicole seems better, too. I hope you get your novels out there!