So Much Happier

Walt and I snuck over to Atria this morning while I knew my mother would be sleeping and went to her new apartment in the memory unit to measure and figure out how to arrange it.  I am feeling SO much better.  

For one thing, she DOES have a view out her window.

 

It's not quite the full length door that she has now, but she can still sit in her chair and look out at some greenery.  After Walt measured the room and checked with the measurements of her furniture that he took yesterday, I am even more content that she can have the room looking kind of like she has now.  I do have a photo of the room, but it's just a big empty room now, so no point in posting a photo until we have furniture in it.

When we went in I took a picture of the dining room

 

They tell me that there are about 30 residents in memory care, so the dining room is tiny (the wood floor tells me that there are probably more spills in here too!)  To the left, with kind of a "pass through" is the room where they do creative activities.

Directly behind me is the common area with the huge TV.  They were doing chair exercises when we arrived and a sing-along when we left.

 

Best of all, I discovered that my mother's "friend" Loretta (she does not know her by name, nor does Loretta know my mother by name) lives right across the hall from my mother.  I assume that sooner or later the two of them will realize that they are neighbors.

I took three short videos to give a feeling for the place.  This one is the apartment itself.

This one is the sitting room at one end of the hall (my mother's apartment is in the middle of the hall).  This one has a door that goes out into the garden.

And this one is the garden.  You can go out the door of the sitting room, wander around in the garden and if you take the other door in you find yourself in the common area.  It's impossible to leave the unit without setting off an alarm (Walt and I discovered when we tried to leave!)

When we left the unit, we ran ito Margaret, with whom I used to eat whenever I had lunch there (now her table is usually full).  She was happy to hear that my mother was going into the memory unit because she has noticed that she has declined a lot in the last few months.

We've decided her bed will fit in the apartment, so we aren't going to go out and buy a smaller bed now (until we decide if it turns out to be too big).  So really all we have to do now is wait for the 21st when we move her.