My brother drove into town last night. Our Mom’s birthday is Monday and we are going to bring her over to my house to have a small celebration, give her a change of scenery, and just be together. My Mom turns 96 on Monday. She has been in her retirement community since the Shelter in Place started on March 16th. She had gone out for a couple of hair appointments back in March and then again recently, but that has pretty much been it. That and doctor appointments, which thankfully are few. Her retirement community has imposed a 14 day quarantine to any resident who goes offsite and comes back. It doesn’t matter if it is for a doctor appointment or hair appointment. You are supposed to self-quarantine for 14 days. To this end she isn’t supposed to have visitors but we asked if we could bring her over to my home. They said fine. We could even go to her room if we pass the temperature check and masking rules. But only one of us could go. We agreed knowing she would be back in quarantine afterward.
So the project to break my Mom out is underway. I have to say though, it is so nice to have my brother come stay with us. He didn’t bring his wife and kids. We are going to see them in August and we thought it probably a bit safer just to have Mom visit the four of us.
My brother was the first person, outside my daughter and husband, that I have physically touched in 4 months. We gave each other a light hug. We had dinner and he was his charming self. My brother is very sharp and can tell a great story. He lives an interesting life and always regales us with his latest adventures. Living in LA there never seems to be a shortage of stories to tell.
I have been looking forward to this visit for weeks but tried very hard not to get my hopes up because we were afraid of too many things that could go wrong. Fortunately, my brother was able to drive from Santa Monica to our home in the East Bay without stopping. I think he broke the land speed record at 5 hours 7 minutes too. We even went to get coffee together this morning after he went for a run and I went for a walk. It was great. I’m so grateful I have a brother that I truly love and enjoy being around. He is the only person in this world who knows what it is like to grow up in our family. Our father used to remind us as kids, “When your mother and I are gone, you will only have each other.” We thankfully also both have our own families now, but we understood even as kids what our dad meant. There is only one person in this world who witnessed first hand what our family was. I’m grateful to say my Dad did succeed in getting that message across. I’m grateful we both listened to it too.
So off he goes to get Mom. He will help her with some computer upgrades, bring over a printer she isn’t using, and deliver this most precious person to us. He is looking forward to grabbing a sandwich at a deli in Marin he likes. It is amazing right now how much these little things mean. A favorite sandwich, a family visit, good weather so we can sit outside. The pandemic is certainly helping us remember where our priorities should be. While our nation struggles and our national “leadership” obfuscates, I’m grateful that at least, I can still visit with my family. I don’t expect us to do much. Just sit outside and talk. Right now, that experience is something money just can’t buy.