Lovington

 I took a little walk around Lovington this afternoon. It was cold so it wasn't a real long walk. The sidewalks were also icy. Here's a picture of Sharon's house. Sharon will leave this world with a minimal carbon foot print. She recycled, reduced and reused. Her freezer is FULL of kelp (what the heck is that) greens, kale and garlic from her garden. She never filled her sink to do dishes. She hasn't had a dryer for years. She hung everything out on the line. She spent very little money on herself but was always willing to spend it on other people. She was born in Lovington and she will die in Lovington. Her mother lived in Lovington 101 years.

Don's been teaching Sean to play chess. He's pretty good at tic tac toe and the square game. Sean has been very good this entire trip. He's a great little traveler.

Sharon was saying her back hurt tonight. She doesn't complain about anything. I gave her some liquid ibuprofen and we arranged the mattresses on the floor. I put her on her left side with a pillow behind her back. The hospice nurse showed up this evening with more Ativan and the fentanyl patches. I put a patch on her back and she is now ready for bed for the night. That makes it sound like she got out of bed which she didn't.  She is drinking with the straw. She hasn't eaten anything today. She doesn't feel like it. No urine output since yesterday morning.

I have had the interesting opportunity to talk to a couple of Sharon's friends. They have called because they haven't been able to get hold of her. When I tell them she is sick they are surprised. I talked to her friends Cathy Ivon and Ellen. I've never met either of these women but Sharon has talked about them and I know who they are. I read a book that Cathy wrote about her husband's immigration from Bulgaria. They were both taken aback when I told them how sick she was. Ellen said "but she said she was fine and felt good." My only response to that is "well, she fibbed."

Ellen told me how she'd known Sharon her whole life and when she was in high school Sharon was a cheerleader and she always tried to sit next to her. She described the clothes and even shoes Sharon wore. She wanted to know if we needed a bedside commode or wheelchair and I told her it was too late for that. She said she was going to go to Makinaw with Sharon last month and now felt bad that she hadn't gone.

Cathy told me she had been friends with Sharon since college. They were in the same sorority. She told me about visiting with Sharon and Dave the week before Don was born. She really wanted to talk to Sharon but she was asleep. I felt bad for both of them because they wanted to say good bye but Sharon really isn't conversant. She has pretty much detached herself.