No, I won't be a cafeteria lunch lady anymore. I did indeed have to give it up, as much as I loved those kids. It was WAYYYYY too hard on my back to throw around institutional sized everything, I almost hurt myself a couple of times, and I was so tired when I finally threw in the towel, I spent almost a week just doing nothing but recover.
My hat's off to those ladies. That is one backbreaking job, and actually dangerous for me with my back and (lack of) upper body strength.
Now I have new babies to take care of. Follow me under the orange thingie.
My new babies are............my aged parents. My Mom has been very sick for awhile and my Dad has been struggling to care for her. They are both in their 80s and not in the best of health. My Dad has been very generous with offers of financial help for me, his latest thing is that, since he knows I can't afford to buy a new car when my 12 year old vehicle finally goes belly-up, he offered a swap - Mom's nice new car (which she will never again be well enough to drive) for my old beater (which has been well maintained and is still good but OLD) which he proposes keeping in their garage for a "spare".
Well - I almost choked up. Also, my Mom is deteriorating badly, she's in so much pain, (and damn her new doctor for taking away all the pain meds that were making her life bearable - he doesn't "approve" of them you see). So she went cold turkey off the sched 4 narcotics that were making her comfortable. Now in principle I understand where the guy is coming from - she's overmedicated enough as it is - but couldn't she have been tapered off those a bit? Oh well. We can bark up that tree all day I guess.
Point is, it's stressful for Dad, terrible for both of them, she's depressed, and what's worse, neither of them is eating well. He's been cooking for them, (and man is he a terrible cook haha, but he tries).
My sister and I went over there yesterday - it was her 82nd birthday. We had to cancel the planned restaurant trip, she couldn't handle it. Dad gets mad at her, and can be sort of mean and impatient, because he does not know how to do this. She has to be dressed and persuaded to get out of bed, and he's kind of rough with all these things.
So I told them - this will be my new "job". I'll just treat it like a job (and since I quit working, I have absolutely nothing else to do with my own life, so what the hay), I'll come over every day, help with her, read to her, amuse her as much as I can (I'm her favorite daughter, my sister is Dad's girl, which is all ok), and fix them some much needed nutritious lunches each day. This part is tricky, because she's so nauseous all the time, many foods she used to like, she now can't stand - normal stuff like soup and eggs, because of the bad tummy.
My Dad was kind of casual about that idea (as he is about everything) but I could tell he was thrilled at the idea. He needs time off. He's afraid to leave her alone (she's still a little loopy - possibly early stage dementia), and he can't leave the house at all if someone doesn't come watch her. Which will be me. My sister has volunteered for a little too, but she's still working and has other responsibilities. So hey.
When I was over there yesterday, my Dad and Sister left to go to Target to get a prescription for pain relieving gel for her arms and hands (which turns out won't be available till tomorrow), she broke down and cried and said to me "I wish I were dead".
I seem to be the only non-judgmental caretaker she has (which means maybe I'll have a little more leverage when actually getting her to get up and move around - Dad barks orders at her like the drill sergeant he used to be haha - and her sister is very bossy and unsympathetic as well).
Now my dilemma - I know how to fix good basic nutritious meals with fresh food and not too hard to eat for someone with a bad tummy (Dad's been feeding her hamburgers and boxed mashed potatoes, which is HIS idea of a good meal haha).
But anybody with any good recipes out there, I would love to know them. This is food for invalids that I would love to make tasty enough she would actually eat some, and which Dad would like too, since he hasn't actually been eating well either (jokes about how awful his own cooking is, but it's true - but he tries).
I know having me there would keep her from sinking into depression - she's much happier when people are around. I've been visiting regularly but truly didn't know how bad it was till now. Now it has to be my job.
Anyways. Thanks for listening. Don't take any wooden (nickels) political ads. (Funny how the Ds will always identify themselves as Ds but the Rs are afraid to identify themselves as Rs hahahahaha.)