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State of Me
Aug. 24th, 2014 07:26 pmI thought you guys deserved an update, especially since I've been absent so much lately.
The Good...
Mom is recovering well. She is off the walker and every day she wants to do more. The other day we finally turned in her oxygen machine because she can finally keep her blood oxygen up. She's been working hard at physical therapy to achieve those two goals, and I'm amazingly proud of how well she's doing.
But...
The better she gets, the more aware I am of all the ways in which this house is not okay for her as she ages. We have only bathtubs, and lifting her knees that high is a problem. Out back we have a few narrow steps that lead to a flagstone path to the back yard. Neither of us gave that a second thought when we bought the house, but now the old stairs and landscaping keep Mom trapped on the porch because she can't navigate the yard because she doesn't walk well enough. And she loves cooking. Adore it. But we have old deep cupboards that you literally have to kneel on the floor to reach into. So as she's getting better and she wants to garden and cook, she's having to ask me for more help and that's bothering her.
Now, we're lucky as hell. I know that. And financially we're fine. Honest.
But I also want to give her back as much of her life as I can, so I'm looking at some big remodeling costs to get the house more accessible. That means I picked up a side job that will bring in a few thousand dollars and I'm pushing the pro fic hard.
Assimilation, Love, and Other Human Oddities comes out September 24th. Loose Id has Two Steps Back behind it in the queue somewhere. The third Desert World book is at Dreamspinner (no, they never brought in much money, but it will bring in more if I publish it than if it stays on my hard drive). I was almost done with a steampunk pirate book when school (and this part-time job opportunity) started up. I'm determined to get it done by September, though.
In short, I'm busy. I'm working at a pace I can't keep up forever, and honestly I enjoyed writing more when I took it slower, but Mom is insisting I can't touch my retirement account for house remodel, and I"m insisting that she can't keep living in house that doesn't accommodate her. So this is temporary. I know I've dropped some fanfic balls, and I will pick them up when I can. I just need to get a few of these home improvements done before my daughter-guilt gets too deep.
The Good...
Mom is recovering well. She is off the walker and every day she wants to do more. The other day we finally turned in her oxygen machine because she can finally keep her blood oxygen up. She's been working hard at physical therapy to achieve those two goals, and I'm amazingly proud of how well she's doing.
But...
The better she gets, the more aware I am of all the ways in which this house is not okay for her as she ages. We have only bathtubs, and lifting her knees that high is a problem. Out back we have a few narrow steps that lead to a flagstone path to the back yard. Neither of us gave that a second thought when we bought the house, but now the old stairs and landscaping keep Mom trapped on the porch because she can't navigate the yard because she doesn't walk well enough. And she loves cooking. Adore it. But we have old deep cupboards that you literally have to kneel on the floor to reach into. So as she's getting better and she wants to garden and cook, she's having to ask me for more help and that's bothering her.
Now, we're lucky as hell. I know that. And financially we're fine. Honest.
But I also want to give her back as much of her life as I can, so I'm looking at some big remodeling costs to get the house more accessible. That means I picked up a side job that will bring in a few thousand dollars and I'm pushing the pro fic hard.
Assimilation, Love, and Other Human Oddities comes out September 24th. Loose Id has Two Steps Back behind it in the queue somewhere. The third Desert World book is at Dreamspinner (no, they never brought in much money, but it will bring in more if I publish it than if it stays on my hard drive). I was almost done with a steampunk pirate book when school (and this part-time job opportunity) started up. I'm determined to get it done by September, though.
In short, I'm busy. I'm working at a pace I can't keep up forever, and honestly I enjoyed writing more when I took it slower, but Mom is insisting I can't touch my retirement account for house remodel, and I"m insisting that she can't keep living in house that doesn't accommodate her. So this is temporary. I know I've dropped some fanfic balls, and I will pick them up when I can. I just need to get a few of these home improvements done before my daughter-guilt gets too deep.
