Goals for The Upcoming Months

Our goals for Grandma over the next six months are that she remains healthy and well-fed, and her spirit high. Our goals for ourselves are to be useful in any way we can, be it cooking, packing, doing household chores, or running errands, and ultimately help her move around June. Most importantly, not breaking anything – including wind, especially at the dinner table.

After cohabiting in sin for about ten years with minimal homemaking/housekeeping responsibilities, living with Grandma is certainly intimidating for Kenric and me. Our biggest responsibility went from not losing our passports to making our beds every morning, and that’s not necessarily easier. We’re sure it’s a much bigger adjustment for Grandma who is an excellent homemaker and observes proper etiquette in all aspects of life to now live with these two closet slobs.

Familiarity Breeds Contempt

Staying with Grandma for a total of 7.5 months may have very unintended consequences. Kenric could go from being just one of her five grandchildren to being a disdained grandchild. After all, we are laying bare our rather-unconventional and contemptible-to-many lifestyle, and we know familiarity breeds contempt.

Thankfully, Grandma has always been supportive of our crazy travel adventure, and never questioned (at least not to our faces) our sanity when we quit our jobs. In fact, she’s a big proponent of traveling while one is young if one can afford it. She is a wonderful storyteller, has a good sense of humor, and I really admire her being able to stay so healthy and sharp minded at 93. Regardless of the outcome, if we are able to make this transition easier on her mentally and physically, we’ll call it a success.

It’s Heartbreaking to Cancel Our Plans

While it was an easy decision to cancel our 2019 travel plans, I am very heartbroken to have to cancel our plan to return to Kotor where we intended to help sterilize as many homeless cats and kittens as we could afford. It was an offer I made to Danijela, the nice lady who took in the kitten we saved from the evil man who had just killed its last remaining sibling. I feel really bad for letting Danijela and all the innocent kitties down. Kenric and I will do our very best to make up for it remotely and in 2020 when we return to Kotor. Until then, we’ll enjoy Grandma’s company, beautiful California and all the amazing Mexican food we’ve missed so much.

Laughing Inappropriately

I also must find a way to distract myself from laughing inappropriately at seemingly innocuous stuff especially at church. Then again, it’s not my fault when the Minister said, “Please lift Kathy Olson in your prayers. She’s in the hospital with a severe eye infection, but the doctors are keeping an eye on her.” Or, when the neighbor was over to chat with Grandma about the inurnment service for Grandpa. Her husband, Jack, was also cremated, years ago. She asked if Grandpa’s ashes were in a jar or a box.

“In a box”, Grandma replied.

“Yes, they also put Jack in the Box.”

I pinched myself SO FREAKING HARD. I’m still laughing.

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