Raven's View

No, I don't mean the Jagged Little Pill girl, I was thinking about how my Christmas went. My mom - 93 now -  lives mostly on her own in her Toronto apartment. She's managing OK, but we think needs more social interactions. There are many seniors in the building, and many gather downstairs for lunch and coffee, but she doesn't mix as well with them anymore. Partly because there are little cliques that form and gossip about each other - like we did in grade 9. And partly because of her, she always had a sharp tongue, and a habit of manipulating to keep the focus on her, and those things haven't mellowed with age. Add to that failing hearing, and bad memory, and she's now no longer one of the cool kids. Too bad, she has lead an interesting life, with many stories to share. We think she needs to move on to a long term home, with organized activities and new people to meet, but that's still under discussion with her. It's  always a challenge when our parents get older, and we need to help them stay active and alert - and safe. In the meantime, she's lonely, so I asked her to fly up for a few days at Christmas. She can be a demanding guest, but I figured I could manage a few days.