Family Breakfast

Family Breakfast

David waited until the rest of the family was at the breakfast table to say "Mom fell again last night."

"She's OK and sleeping in. I think it's time to make a tough decision," he said while staring at the piece of bacon in his hand as if the answer was there.

"You're always ready to ship Mom to a nursing home whenever she gets a scratch, David," his brother Phil said, shaking his head. "She's not going to leave this house unless it's in a coffin."

"Phil's right." Michelle spoke up, looking at David. "Phil and I see Mom every day and you come to visit 3 or 4 times a year. I think we have a better idea about Mom's ability to stay here in the house."

Michelle hoped her words were convincing. She wouldn't admit that she really thought it was time for Mom to move into an assisted living center. Or that she knew the real reason for Mom's resistance to move out of the house. Michelle still suspected that she was the only one around the table who knew.

"I spoke with the staff at the Lakeside Care Center and it's a nice place. Mom will get to be as independent as she can be and get help when she needs it," David said to no one in particular. "I know that my law practice doesn't let me get here as often as I'd like, but I can still help where I can."

"Who told you to do that?" Phil shouted as the red color of rage spread over his face.

Michelle put a hand on Phil's arm and said "David was just trying to help, Phil. He cares about Mom, too."

Seeing Phil calm down she said "Does Mom have any say in this?" looking at David.

"It's getting to the point where we need to question Mom's decision-making ability," he said.

Phil was picking around his scrambled egg with his fork as he said "So, we're going to railroad Mom out of the house and into a nursing home?" He pushed his plate away from him as he said "I've lost my appetite."

David pushed on, "I walked through the house last night and think we can sell it and the contents and buy Mom a nice little apartment at Lakeside."

"You did what?" It was Michelle's turn to look surprised. "You looked through the whole house?"

"The attic and basement don't have much in them but a bunch of old boxes of junk that should be tossed out. The main living areas and furniture are in good shape. We can have that lady down the street who does estate sales go through everything and pick out what's worth selling," David directed to Michelle.

"I don't want a stranger going through Mom's stuff," Michelle said. Especially in the basement, she thought. "We should be the first to go through her things with her."

"You're right. You two see Mom every day but I'm telling you that she looks a lot worse than the last time I was here," David said to his siblings. "I don't know how long we can wait to get her some help."

Phil cursed quietly while looking at his cold eggs.

"Okay, okay," said Michelle, putting both hands on the table as if trying to push the problem away. "Here's what we're going to do. Over the next 3 months, Phil and I will go through Mom's things and sort out what can be sold. We'll talk with Mom about moving and the next time you visit, David, we'll all sit down and discuss the Lakeside option together."

"If she gets worse before then, you'll call me and we'll discuss it over the phone. Okay?" David says when Michelle finishes.

"We'll call you if something happens." Looking at Phil, Michelle asks "Will you work with me on this?"

Nodding, Phil says "Sure, I guess," knowing he could never disagree with his older sister.

"Alright, that's the best we're going to for now. I have to get on a conference call with the office in a few minutes. Leave the breakfast dishes and I'll do them later," David said as got up from the table.

"That's okay, I'll do them," Michelle said. "Don't you have to go to work?" she said looking at Phil.

"They won't mind if I get to the auto shop a little late, but I guess I'll head on over there," Phil said putting on his Franklin Car Repair cap on as he headed out the door.

Michelle sat for a moment thinking, "I knew this moment would come, but I still don't know what to do."

Slowly she pushed herself away from the table, listening carefully to make sure that Phil had gone and David was upstairs. She walked to the basement door and opened it slowly so the rusty bottom hinge didn't make too much noise.

Walking down the stairs, she pulled on the string that turned on the bare light bulb in the ceiling. As she walked over to the stack of boxes in the corner behind the furnace, she hoped that David hadn't disturbed anything. She lifted all but the bottom box reverently and placed them aside. Looking at the remaining box, slightly larger than a shoe box, Michelle said quietly, "What are we going to do now, Sis?"