C: MIL on the Mend, and the Joy of Neighbors

It's drizzing rain here today, but yesterday was glorious. The weather was just perfect, and we spent the day burning our burn piles of fallen logs and sticks. Slowly, ever so slowly, my little farm is taking the shape I want. It is becoming tidier as my son and I (with help from friend Ryan) work to remove aged fences, tame underbrush, and keep the place mowed. Yesterday's effort was extremely satisfying.

Shifting focus from myself (so hard to do--I have been just a tad self-absorbed!), let me say that my mother-in-law is improving daily! She's able to dress herself and move about the house. She is allowed to put 50% of her weight on her hip until she sees the doctor in two weeks so he can assess if she should put full weight to bear. We are learning about walkers and sliding bath benches, long-arm grabbers and other devices to help people with daily activities when they have had this surgery.

In her home, MIL has physical therapy three times a week, occupational therapy twice a week, and an aide to help her bathe or do anything else she needs three times a week. All of this is paid by Medicare, and this after two weeks in a wonderful rehabilitation facility. I know there are things about our healthcare system that need to be fixed, but surely we have no complaints about the treatment Medicare has provided for my MIL.

We have a new ramp (built by a neighbor) for her, installed a hand-held shower nozzle (purchased and installed by neighbors), arranged for someone to be with her during the day after my sister-in-law leaves (it will be a neighbor, http://www.midlifecountrygirl.blogspot.com/), begun landscaping her yard for her (a neighbor), had dinner brought to her (neighbors)...are you getting the picture, here?

I love our community. It is like our neighbors have galvanized around MIL's need, and my sister-in-law has been so complimentary about their warmth. To her, we live in the wilderness (and she's not completely wrong about that...bear season this week brought a kill just a quarter mile away) but our neighbors respond to each other in time of need. Maybe it's because we are so far out from usual city conveniences and that mutual reliance is a replacement for that. But I like to think it's just the quality of the people. I think I'm right.

Yesterday my mother, sister, brother-in-law and their two youngest came out to visit MIL and SIL before SIL's departure on Tuesday. They partook of my homemade vegetable soup, and we had a high-old family time with both "sides" of my family represented. Here's my youngest niece with Chili:

Also our neighbors from "up the hill" called to see if MIL was well enough to come up for dinner. We declined, being obedient to the physical therapist's orders not to tackle the ramp until the 14th, when we go to the orthopedist. Intent on us all getting together anyway, they came down the hill last night, and we had a take-out-ribs feast on MIL's new porch--a christening, as it were. The weather was balmy--just short of cool--and the company was wonderful. MIL was glad for the relief of monotony and, of course, thinking that someone cares enough about you to make this kind of effort did her worlds of good.

Here's the view from MIL's porch, where our little dinner party was last night:

Blessed? You bet we are! MIL and I have bumps ahead in the road--we can see them them coming up--but I think we're ready for them. With this kind of support, how can we fail? C