Update on Mina and Sharon

Life goes on. Mina and I have settled into our different routines. Mina is adjusting well to living in a nursing home temporarily. She needs to be there for a minimum of another 3 wks. getting attended to by nurses who specialize in taking care of her wound vac machine and other special needs she has. Her wound is healing well. She is learning to stand on one leg and pivot into her wheelchair with some help. This is important for her functioning at home.

I visit Mina every day usually during the afternoon after lunchtime though often I am there when she gets her lunch which is good. I teach a class every Thursday evening so on those days I visit in the morning. This thursday is Thanksgiving so I am looking forward to a break and then only 2 wks. of classes left. Next semester I may have a heavier load of teaching which I kind of dread. Because of budget cuts I may get a very large class of students, something I haven't done in years as I usually teach graduate students. But I need to keep my health insurance going at full speed ahead; otherwise I might drop a class. My other class is not a class, it is administrative work I do for the Gerontology Option. So I need two to maintain my present coverage especially dental.

I am now the bill payer in the family and also have had some handywork done, something Mina usually is doing, hiring people for odd jobs etc. I kind of like paying online. I get to see what's up. It may be hard to give back all these little new roles I am learning. However, today I think I was overcharged for putting in a deadbolt lock in my front door. I was charged 175.00 and I think I was taken. It only took about 40 minutes. He did a good job but still....It was someone I trusted so I was taken aback and didn't know how to question it until he left.

Well, a little time left to the evening, I'd like to go a read more of the book I am into lately, The Help by Kathryn Stockett. It is about several women in Mississippi around 1961 after integration of Old Miss and all the rioting. It is from the viewpoint of several maids working for white people during those trying time ( as though they are not still trying) and also from viewpoint of a young white person who is learning about racism. It is a controversial book because it is written by a white woman, thus how authentic can it be? But worth a read so far.

Sharon Raphael