Day 53: on moving forward, sometimes slowly

As I mentioned yesterday, this week is fairly clear of appointments, so I've been taking advantage of the slower pace. Yesterday I tackled the kitchen and restored some much needed order. Today I got together the recycling and took it out, along with the trash in the bathrooms. This might not sound like much, until I share that for the last six months of last year (and the first few months of this year), I was in such a deep depression that just feeding myself, or taking a shower, on top of taking care of the Queen Mother, was a supreme achievement. Though my finances don't appear to be improving anytime soon - a significant trigger for my depression - I seem to be able to hold my head above water a lot better than I was this time last year.

The moments of huswifery help to break up the insanity of the phone calls I've been making for the past two days. Trying to get anywhere in an entrenched bureaucracy immediately after a holiday weekend is a hard slog. I have gotten mom's Medi-Cal appeal into the system, so that's good. (They say we should be scheduled for a hearing sometime within the next 30 days.) I haven't yet found any additional health programs I can enroll her in, so that's not so good. There are a few other options I need to investigate, but the goal of lowering her base income is not looking like it will be met at the moment.

I have a caregiver support group to attend tomorrow, which always helps to improve my state of mind. I also intend to do a chore or two - maybe get the trash out, maybe mop the kitchen floor - along with plugging away on the phone calls. I hope to be able to turn in the paperwork for the Queen Mother's Medi-Cal re-evaluation by the end of the week. With any luck, slow-but-steady will win the race.

That's enough out of me for the moment. Now to unplug my mind and Not Think for the rest of the evening.