It's Quite Amazing

I am on the plane home and online creating this post.  It is quite amazing to me that technologically we have the knowledge and power to do so.  Although, after experiencing Edison's estate the other day, I really shouldn't be too surprised that our inventiveness as humans continues to expand the possibilities for our future advances.  I am excited to be going home to be truthful.  While I love to travel, traveling with family can be quite humbling. 

I spent a few nights with my father and stepmother in Bonita Springs, Florida, and during that time realized that in my father's mind, I will always be his child.  While I am closing in on 39 years old, we still had the typical father/daughter struggle for power.  I had friends in town, and one night thought I would go out to visit them in Naples (about a 20 minute drive from where we stayed).  Well, that meant "borrowing" Dad's car, and driving home on the "dangerous" roads of Naples, Florida late at night.  Mind you, it was 8:30pm when I was ready to go, and my father surprised me with his answer of "No" to my question of, "May I borrow the car?".  It was right back to a high school moment, although my father and I did not live together during those years, so truly, this was new territory.  I ended up calling a cab so I could leave the house, angry and frustrated with my father.  My stepmother talked to me about it, and tried to tell me that it had nothing to do with me, but with his control issues that something might happen to his car and there would be no way home.  He actually said, "You can borrow the car, but don't bother coming back if you get in an accident."  I decided it wasn't worth it to me, as anyone could hit me anywhere anytime. 

I managed to still have a nice time out with my friends, and decided I wasn't going to let him spoil my trip.  I was cordial and pretended nothing had happened the night before.  I suppose it let  him off the hook a little easily, but I also wanted him to see how an adult handles herself.  This was a few days ago, and we did spend a few more days together without incident, but no, I did not drive the car once.  By the way, I slept in the grandchildren's bunk beds too.  :)

I'm glad to be going home to where I am in charge of my days, my nights, my eating habits, my car, my cleaning and my bed.  But, I will miss the sun in Bonita, the feel of the sand on my toes, and the Gulf washing my soul clean.

Are You Feeling Inventive?

Mom is still in hospital, but I am far away and so trying to enjoy the time away that I have.  She is okay, just wanting to go home, and since my sister doesn't seem to be able to drive, she will be staying another night in the hospital.  If she can't find a way home by the time I get home tomorrow, I'll be driving the 45 minutes over to NWH and then to her house.  I really hope not to have to do this...

In the meantime,  we went up to Fort Myers to the Edison & Ford Winter Estates.  What a gorgeous location and setup these gentlemen enjoyed.

Among the estate we explored cottages, pools, a separate study, caretakers cottage, a laboratory and botanical research gardens, as well as farming and agricultural areas.

One of Edison's largest fascinations were his botanical discoveries.  Things like goldenrod and rubber trees were experimented with and later led to work in rubber, plastic and latex.  His list of patents is over 1,000 long, including items like a needle phonograph, electric lamps, waffle irons, generators, recording devices, and motion picture projectors. The list goes on and on.  As I walked the estate I thought of what his mind must have been like.  To always have something else brewing, ready to be discovered, ready to be questioned.  It was an amazing place.  History surrounded us, and it really fun to walk through the laboratory and see the items he touched and used on a daily basis, including his cot where he slept when he caught up in an new idea. 

Can you see there is still residue of the items he used in these great bottles?  There are thousands in his lab...

Doesn't it make you feel inventive too? :)

Sun, Sunny Day

Here I sit in Florida, sitting in the sun on the veranda of my father's friends house, drinking my Hot Cinnamon iced tea, listening to Mo Rocca and friends on Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me, when I get a call from Life Alert.  You know about Life Alert don't you?  "I've fallen and I can't get up." was such a catch phrase for a long time.  Well, my mother fell this morning.  She fell yesterday afternoon, too, and the paramedics were called by Life Alert, and put her back in her chair.  She called me to tell me she was fine, and no she hadn't hurt anything.  So, getting a call at 9am today was a little shocking. It's been awhile since she has fallen repeatedly like this.  It's usually a signal that something else is wrong.  Her sugars are off, she has an infection, or something we haven't come across yet.  I'm wonderfing though why it happens like this when she is in Massachusetts, and I am in Florida for my only vacation this year.  Is it just a coincidence?  Sometimes I wonder... Is it attention getting behavior becausee I "left" her all alone.  Of course, she wants to be independent and continue to live alone, but then, everytime I go away, to Churchill to see the polar bears, to California to visit a friend,  or to Florida to get some vitamin D for a few days, something happens.  And I don't even live with her when I AM in Massachusetts.  I know I sound like a selfish brat not thinking of my mother and her safety, but I need to vent. 

As I'm writing this, Life Alert called me to tell me that the paramedics did transport her to the hospital.  They can't tell me any more than that.  I do hope she is okay.  She will have to figure out some way to get home since I am away.   Maybe my sister will step up if she is called.  I have to wait now to call the hospital so that they can do their evaluation of her.  It's sad to me that I know all the procedures and the timelines for how these things work.  She will be in a triage room for a while, and a nurse will be assigned, and a doctor, and she'll have to answer all sorts of questions, especially the one about who she lives with.  She hates that one. 

I'm going to try and sit here and finish the Wait Wait show and then I'll call.  I need to breathe. Just breathe.  You are allowed to go on vacation once and a while.  She wants to live alone, and this is what happens when a person who shouldn't live alone lives alone.  They fall, they get sick.  Send some prayers my Mom's way if you will.  Prayers that she is ok.  Prayers that she may learn that being in a place where they could keep an eye on her might not be a bad idea.  Prayers to let my sister take care of her mother for once.