Christmas, 2013

Dear Family & Friends,

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year, etc. We hope this letter finds you happy and healthy.

Normally I (Gee) sit down Thanksgiving Day to write this annual epistle. However, this year I'm starting it about a week and half early, knowing it may need significant editing before it hits the mail. As I write this on November 17^th, I am in Florida for a two-week "vacation" before heading back up north, where I've been since May.

In February my mother's eyesight failed fairly quickly, and dysfunctional neck muscles made it nearly impossible for her to lift her head enough to use what little sight she had left to negotiate the hallways at Havenwood where she has lived for 11 years. In March the facility – with our approval – moved her to the Rainie Unit (an assisted living section of the same building she's been in.)

At the beginning of April my sister Marty and I drove back up north from our winter homes in Ocala to visit Mom and to empty out her old room. We moved a lot to storage, because at that point no one knew whether or not she would improve enough to move back to a room like the one she had been in for the 9+ years since Dad died.

I stayed 2 weeks then flew back to FL because our 2 Connecticut sons and their families came down to help with a belated celebration of Dick's 70th birthday. We spent the better part of a week in time shares in Orlando while they hit the various theme parks before coming up to Ocala to see our home and community. It was great having them here!

Dick & Gee Sauvageau
5606 SW 58th St.
Ocala, FL 34474
(352) 873-4301

Dick & Gee Sauvageau
295 Sebago Rd. Lot 26
Naples, ME 04055
(207) 693-1185

Cell phones:
    Dick: (203) 512-2057
    Gee: (203) 744-4193

Email addresses:
    geesauvageau@hotmail.com
    dicksauvageau@hotmail.com

In May we – Dick and I – drove back up north spending a few days in CT seeing family and friends before going on to our trailer in Maine.

Our summer was uneventful aside from my spending several days twice a month or so visiting Mom in NH. Those visits were made possible – and certainly a lot pleasanter – by our friend Judi who lives only about a mile from Mom's facility, and who opened her home and extra bedroom to Marty and me.

In September, Mom had deteriorated enough that she was moved to the skilled nursing section and Hospice got involved.

Our campground closes in October, so Dick went back to Florida while I stayed up north alternating between Marty's condo in Massachusetts, Judi's condo in NH, with a side trip my friend Vivian's in Maine and a trip to Scott and Amy's in CT. Marty told people I was homeless. I told them I was "sleeping around"!

As I write this letter, Mom hasn't eaten much of any solid food for over 2 months, although she drinks lots of beverages which provide her with some nutrition and calories. She is on oxygen 24/7, still gets up and gets dressed every day, but has no energy to do much more than sleep in her chair. They recently took her off her meds because she's having such a hard time swallowing them. Basically, her doctor says her 99-year-old heart is just wearing out. She could be here a year from now or she could die tomorrow. She still knows Marty and me as well as most of her friends who come to visit, and she can still carry on a normal conversation, but her quality of life is not what she ever wanted, and she has always said she wants NO heroic measures to keep her alive. When she first moved to the skilled care section no one expected her to last more than a few weeks. However, she is a "tough old broad", to quote a friend of hers, and is still hanging in there.

Anyway, I plan to return to the frozen north just before Thanksgiving, spend a couple of days with Scott, Michael and their families then head back to Mom's until… Well, who knows?

Anyway, sons, daughters-in-law and grandkids are all fine. Teddy's a senior in high school this year, and, as goalie, helped his school soccer team make it to the state quarterfinals. He's looking at colleges for next year, but hasn't made any decisions. Kayleigh's a freshman, doing well in school and enjoying playing volleyball, riding many of the different horses on the farm and earning some money by doing "horsey-day-care" (grooming, riding, and generally caring for, people's horses when they can't come to the farm.)

Alden and Ethan (our Spokane grandkids) ages 8 and 6, respectively, are doing well in school, enjoying Boy Scouts with their dad, and have taken up gymnastics this year. Their time is spent equally with both of their parents, who continue to make their split work for the kids. We haven't seen them in 2 years and had hoped to fly out there this fall to see them. Obviously, with the situation with my mom, that didn't happen. Hopefully, next spring.

Ayden and Alea are 10 and 5 and are growing up fast. It's hard to believe our "baby", Alea's in kindergarten already! She LOVES school, but then, she loves just about everything! Ayden is very bright and finds lots of interesting opportunities available to him. He seems to be a much happier little boy than he was a few years ago. Hooray!

Well, enough for now. We hope your holidays are wonderful and that 2014 is good to you all.

Dick & Gee