We missed our connection in Heathrow and are now spending the night there. The airline is paying for the hotel and food, but it's all very low-end.

Pic from Stanserhorn, a nearby mountain.

Our last morning in Switzerland. We fly out in a few hours. It was wonderful here. 

My mother will be discharged from the hospital on July 5. Dad has asked me to join to help him and my brother with her aftercare. My father never asks for anything. He pushes back on receiving gifts. He hates it when one of his sons tries to pick up the check at a restaurant. So the fact that he asked me for help is important. 

My brother said that my mother is recovering from her stroke, but her behavior in the hospital has hilited her worsening dimentia. Dad thas acknowledged the amount of work her home care will require and is worried. 

So, after we fly back from Switzerland, I will repack and fly off to Ottawa.

The husband works for a Swiss company. We are in Switzerland for a work function. Today we had a nice tour of the campus.

Mom continues to improve from her stroke. She will be released in about a week. She will have much out-patient care and physiotherapy after that.

Dad has put mom's name on a list for a local memory care facility. He is being practical here. As much as we love mom and want her to fully recover, she is elderly, has Alzheimer's, and is recovering from cancer and a stroke. Her options for a bright future are thinning. At this point I want her to be loved and I don't want her to suffer. 

View from our room. 

Swiss military garb from the 1500’s

We are in Switzerland for the week. Two days in Zurich, the rest in Lucern. 

We have arrived to perfect weather. Yesterday we spent much of our time in Zurich wandering around its old town and watched hundreds of locals swimming in the river that runs through it. I love that this city has big beach in its heart. 

 

Mom's physiotherapy

Mom has started physiotherapy after her stroke. The doctor says she needs four weeks of in-hospital therapy, but Dad would prefer two weeks in-hospital and then outpatient care.

I know Mom would be happier at home, but Dad and my brother could be stretched taking care of her. She needs constant attention to avoid falling-- she doesn't like using her walker. This is all is easier to manage in a hospital setting with family, nurses, and aides.

The husband and I have travel scheduled for next week. After that I am thinking about flying up to join my family.

A busy weekend in Seattle

We had a busy weekend in Seattle. Friends from California drove up in a motorhome and spent a day and a half with us. On Sunday, friends from Victoria came by ferry for a concert, and we had lunch with them the following day.

While our mother is in the hospital, my youngest brother has moved in with dad. Young Bro can work remote. Mom's hospital is nearby. Young Bro spends time with mom in the mornings and evenings. 

Dad is pushing back on this arrangement. Young Bro and I are debating this. In the past, dad hid mom's cancer from my brothers and I because didn't want to inconvenience us. Dad is proudly independent. Too much so.

So Young Bro and I must judge-- is Dad pushing back because he is too proud to ask for help? Is Young Bro a genuine inconvenience? 

This morning Young Bro sent me a video of mom eating lunch. Her left hand is working well. Her right struggles. Watching the video made me a little weepy.

Hang in there mom. 

Mother has started walking with a walker and some assistance. 

She has Alzheimer's and doesn't remember back more than a few minutes. So it's difficult for her to learn about her stroke and accept that she needs some patience and therapy. The hospital has started strapping her in her bed. Without straps she regularly tries to leave, but then falls after a few steps. The alternative to straps is to have a family member with her 24x7. She trusts family. They can explain to her what's happened, again and again.

Sooner or later mom will leave the hospital. The doctor said that is at least a week away, if not longer. As these plans become more clear, I'll probably fly up to their place to help. 

Mom is slowly recovering. She desperately wants to leave the hospital. She gets angry when she realizes she must stay longer. 

She has been able to sleep a bit better in the last couple of nights. This helps a lot. She already has Alzheimer's. A lack of sleep on top of the stroke makes her current mental state hard to diagnose.

Wednesday Mom had a small stroke. She is in the hospital. My brother and father are with her. 

She doesn't want to stay in the hospital. She is confused, but mobile enough to get into trouble. She'll get out of bed when no one is watching, take a few steps and fall.

She will be in the hospital for a few more days. Dad has communicated that we don't need to come up.

When my mother had cancer dad didn't tell us for months because he didn't want to bather us, and there was nothing we could do anyways. So when dad he told us "She had a small stroke. She is doing fine and will be out in a few days." we have all started digging into the little that we know to see what's really going on.

My boss has started using AI and is recommending it to us. His take is that there are so many Product Marketing and Product Vision documents on the internet, that AI can do a surprisingly good job of creating skeltons or boilerplate for that type of doc. AI isn't good at high level inspiration. Once you have the inspiration, AI does a great job of fleshing it out.

It's been gorgeous here for the past few days. Sunny, not too hot, with a breeze that gently blows though that he trees and freshens the air.

Friday we hung out on the dock at the brother-in-law's rowing club. Sunday we hosted a small cook-out. 

On Monday, my and I attended an AA meeting that hosts a potluck on the fifth Monday of the month. When that happens it invites friends and partners. My husband regrets not being able to attend this meeting more often, as he often flies out for work on Mondays. He has several acquaintances at this AA meeting. He feels like he could add value to it.

On Tuesday evening, I had dinner with my friend C2. He has decided to move to San Diego, California, where there are more job opportunities in his career field. Seattle is starting to sour on him, as it’s been over a year since he’s had a ‘real’ date. From his perspective, there are plenty of players in Seattle, but few men who want to date and build a normal relationship.

I keep my mouth shut. It’s very easy for me to poke holes in his reasoning, but it’s very hard to get him to listen to or trust me. I’m not a great example of how to have a sane or normal relationship or career progression.

C6 & QJ hosted their annual Memorial Weekend pool party. It was fun. I only see many of the attendees once a year at this party. We are all getting older.

As one of the guests commented-- in the 90s, we all hung out at the Cuff (A Seattle gay leather and dance club) The pool party is like a reunion of that time when we thought we would be young, healthy and could drink heavily all the time. 

 Bathwater writes...

So have you decided to take all your posts into Chat GPT before publishing?

It's a shiny new toy. I'm sure I'll use it less as the novelty wears off. 

Using it is also instructive. Sometimes I'll write things that I must mull over for hours. Maybe I need to communicate something controversial. Maybe I must give hard feedback or ask hard questions. AI is a new tool for edit and review. It is much more useful than rereading it dozens of times.

I'm also learning how to spot AI authored text. After using AI for a while I've observed that its writing has a certain feel and tone. A little too neutral. A little too consistent. A little too wordy. 

I have a coworker who does not speak English fluently. Recently I've noticed that his written communication is clear, fleshed out and has proper grammar. Hmmmm

PS. This post has not been edited by AI.

"ChatGPT, on Sunday I bought a jigsaw puzzle board as a birthday gift to my self. Monday, I worked half a day. With the rest of my time I played hooky and worked on a jigsaw puzzle.

Please rewrite that as a personal blog entry."

Sunday was a special day for me - it was my birthday! I decided to treat myself to something I've been wanting for a while: a jigsaw puzzle board. The next day, I only worked half a day and decided to play hooky for the rest of the day. I spent my free time indulging in my new puzzle and it was the perfect way to unwind and celebrate my birthday.

Some corrections. First, my birthday was Saturday even though I bought the puzzle board on Sunday. Second, I worked on an old puzzle, not a new puzzle.

Thank you for the corrections. Here’s the revised version:

Saturday was a special day for me - it was my birthday! The next day, I decided to treat myself to something I’ve been wanting for a while: a jigsaw puzzle board. On Monday, I only worked half a day and decided to play hooky for the rest of the day. I spent my free time indulging in an old puzzle and it was the perfect way to unwind and celebrate my birthday.

Saturday was my birthday. We took it easy. I wasn't up for a big celebration after all our traveling.

So we had a quiet celebration. Friday night we ate at the Calcutta Grill, which has fantastic views. Saturday, we went on a good walk, ran errands, got the house ready for summer, and napped.

Saturday evening, I chatted on Zoom with friends. We usually play games with each other. This time we never got around to it. Our parents are all aging. Two of my friends are dealing with their parents' health crisis. It's good to let them talk, even if we can't offer much in return but emotional support. I know that I've depended on them for just this.

"ChatGPT, please rewrite my blog post in the tone of Margaret Atwood."

On Saturday, I celebrated my birthday in a low-key manner, opting for a more relaxed day after recent travels. The festivities consisted of a quiet gathering without any grand celebrations. On Friday evening, we dined at the Calcutta Grill, a restaurant renowned for its breathtaking views. The following day, we embarked on a pleasant walk, took care of errands, prepared the house for the upcoming summer season, and indulged in a refreshing nap.

...

"Please rewrite my blog in the tone of Stephen King."

Saturday was my damn birthday. We took it easy, not in the mood for any extravagant celebration after all the damn traveling we'd been through.

So we had a quiet shindig. Friday night we grabbed a bite at the Calcutta Grill, a joint with killer views. Saturday, we went for a solid walk, ran some errands, got the house all prepped for the impending summer madness, and crashed for a well-deserved nap.

...