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Proper internet at last! (My aunt had dialup, dialup?!?, even though they have other options that aren't that much more expensive and she really likes sending and downloading lots of pictures of her grandchild. Dialup!)
I'm spending the week in New Hampshire. It's bookended by a big family weekend and a friend's wedding. Family weekend celebrating my aunt's retirement (almost 30 years teaching jr. high school math) and my sister's wedding was great except for Saturday night. The week has been good so far and I'm looking forward to the wedding.
We flew into Manchester Friday around noon. My parents picked us up after also picking my sister and her new husband at Logan. We hung out at the hotel Friday afternoon (we maxed out the family's spare rooms) and in the evening had a BBQ at my grandmother's. After dinner we went to the Lebanon green to watch the fireworks.
This was nice because we had family from all over come. The core of my mother's side of the family is the 3 sisters (my mother's the middle one), but we had my uncle's brother and his wife (Phil and Dawn) fly in from Seattle for the retirement party, and two aunts, one uncle, and a cousin from my dad's side of the family drive in from Ohio for the wedding celebration. Lots of family = good as everyone gets along.
Saturday we had a "cousin's brunch" at EBAs and then hung out at my aunt's and uncle's house in Etna for most of the day. We had a lot of fun playing with Patrick, my cousin's son who is almost three. We played with bubbles and ran around alot.
That night we had planned a dinner cruise on Lake Sunapee in honor of my aunt. Most of the cruise was great. The buffet was very good, we ate with Jason and Taffy. The captain/tour guide wasn't annoying and at times bordered on funny. Walking around the top deck was fantastic, the sunset was gorgeous and everyone seemed to be having a good time.
Then maybe 10 minutes before we got back to the dock my grandmother had what? an incident? an attack? I'm not sure what to call it. Anyway she sort of passed out, she was sweating profusely, and complaining of pain. This was very scary. Fortunately my mother and my cousin are both nurses so they sat with her while we tried to get out of the way. We docked, got everyone else off the boat, some emergency people came, and then eventually an ambulance to take her to the hospital. Denis and I waited in the hospital waiting room with my dad and Debbie until midnight when my dad drove us home. My aunt Lana and mother were with her and I guess they got discharged at 2am.
They're not sure exactly what was wrong. On the boat they said her blood sugar was really low which was strange since she had eaten a lot and isn't diabetic. Then they thought she had a urinary tract infection but this week her doctor said that wouldn't have caused the symptoms. The current theory is that it was an anxiety/panic attack (she kept saying how much she didn't like boats and how she couldn't look out the window at the water. We thought we had distracted her from the fact we were on a boat, but perhaps not enough.) Anyway, her vitals stabilized in the ambulance and she spent most of the time in the hospital trying to leave. It was a rough night.
A word about my grandmother's health: she's in her early 80s and physically she's very healthy. No heart disease, no diabetes, no cancer history, or breathing problems, or anything else. Unfortunately she has dementia. This means she has no short-term memory and needs someone with her all the time. She's also a little unsteady walking and so likes to have someone hold her arm. She doesn't remember who I am so I spend a lot of time with her responding to questions like "where are you from?" "what's your name?" "why did you come all the way up here?" "oh, you're a relation?" This is fine, she's my grandmother, but it's really hard on my aunt who lives with her and takes care of her most of the time.
Anyway, despite the drama Saturday night Sunday we went for a (pre-scheduled) "hidden places tour" at Billings Farm. We skipped the animals and toured the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller estate across the road. It was a terrific tour and if you're in the area I would recommend the park.
Sunday night we went to a historic mansion to have dinner to celebrate Melissa and Dave's wedding (again). It was really nice. Grammie didn't go because we worried it would be too much stimulation.
Monday everyone left for the airport and I moved to my aunt's house in Etna for the week. It's been really nice. I've switched between visiting with my aunt and uncle and my aunt and grandmother. Yesterday I went to see my old co-workers at the Hood. I had a nice lunch with two old bosses--Kathy and Bonnie at the Canoe Club. Today I'm stopping by the art history dept and the slide room and having dinner with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lifeinlondon.
Wedding's Saturday, I fly home Sunday, my class starts Monday (did I mention I've been preparing lectures around all the family time) :)
I'm spending the week in New Hampshire. It's bookended by a big family weekend and a friend's wedding. Family weekend celebrating my aunt's retirement (almost 30 years teaching jr. high school math) and my sister's wedding was great except for Saturday night. The week has been good so far and I'm looking forward to the wedding.
We flew into Manchester Friday around noon. My parents picked us up after also picking my sister and her new husband at Logan. We hung out at the hotel Friday afternoon (we maxed out the family's spare rooms) and in the evening had a BBQ at my grandmother's. After dinner we went to the Lebanon green to watch the fireworks.
This was nice because we had family from all over come. The core of my mother's side of the family is the 3 sisters (my mother's the middle one), but we had my uncle's brother and his wife (Phil and Dawn) fly in from Seattle for the retirement party, and two aunts, one uncle, and a cousin from my dad's side of the family drive in from Ohio for the wedding celebration. Lots of family = good as everyone gets along.
Saturday we had a "cousin's brunch" at EBAs and then hung out at my aunt's and uncle's house in Etna for most of the day. We had a lot of fun playing with Patrick, my cousin's son who is almost three. We played with bubbles and ran around alot.
That night we had planned a dinner cruise on Lake Sunapee in honor of my aunt. Most of the cruise was great. The buffet was very good, we ate with Jason and Taffy. The captain/tour guide wasn't annoying and at times bordered on funny. Walking around the top deck was fantastic, the sunset was gorgeous and everyone seemed to be having a good time.
Then maybe 10 minutes before we got back to the dock my grandmother had what? an incident? an attack? I'm not sure what to call it. Anyway she sort of passed out, she was sweating profusely, and complaining of pain. This was very scary. Fortunately my mother and my cousin are both nurses so they sat with her while we tried to get out of the way. We docked, got everyone else off the boat, some emergency people came, and then eventually an ambulance to take her to the hospital. Denis and I waited in the hospital waiting room with my dad and Debbie until midnight when my dad drove us home. My aunt Lana and mother were with her and I guess they got discharged at 2am.
They're not sure exactly what was wrong. On the boat they said her blood sugar was really low which was strange since she had eaten a lot and isn't diabetic. Then they thought she had a urinary tract infection but this week her doctor said that wouldn't have caused the symptoms. The current theory is that it was an anxiety/panic attack (she kept saying how much she didn't like boats and how she couldn't look out the window at the water. We thought we had distracted her from the fact we were on a boat, but perhaps not enough.) Anyway, her vitals stabilized in the ambulance and she spent most of the time in the hospital trying to leave. It was a rough night.
A word about my grandmother's health: she's in her early 80s and physically she's very healthy. No heart disease, no diabetes, no cancer history, or breathing problems, or anything else. Unfortunately she has dementia. This means she has no short-term memory and needs someone with her all the time. She's also a little unsteady walking and so likes to have someone hold her arm. She doesn't remember who I am so I spend a lot of time with her responding to questions like "where are you from?" "what's your name?" "why did you come all the way up here?" "oh, you're a relation?" This is fine, she's my grandmother, but it's really hard on my aunt who lives with her and takes care of her most of the time.
Anyway, despite the drama Saturday night Sunday we went for a (pre-scheduled) "hidden places tour" at Billings Farm. We skipped the animals and toured the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller estate across the road. It was a terrific tour and if you're in the area I would recommend the park.
Sunday night we went to a historic mansion to have dinner to celebrate Melissa and Dave's wedding (again). It was really nice. Grammie didn't go because we worried it would be too much stimulation.
Monday everyone left for the airport and I moved to my aunt's house in Etna for the week. It's been really nice. I've switched between visiting with my aunt and uncle and my aunt and grandmother. Yesterday I went to see my old co-workers at the Hood. I had a nice lunch with two old bosses--Kathy and Bonnie at the Canoe Club. Today I'm stopping by the art history dept and the slide room and having dinner with
lifeinlondon.Wedding's Saturday, I fly home Sunday, my class starts Monday (did I mention I've been preparing lectures around all the family time) :)
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