September 16-Sept 30th, 2021

We have come to the end of September and the beginning of Fall.  The temperatures have continued to stay warm and just recently dropped, especially in the evening which has allowed Tom to finally turn off the air conditioner and open the windows! 

We also said goodbye to Mom Seitz with funeral services held in Venice, Florida on Sept 20th. Tom and I were able to travel to Sarasota on Saturday, Sept 18th via Southwest airlines. Allison planned on joining us, but Tom thought it would be too much of a struggle for her to take time off work, pay for airfare and hotel. She also had a busy weekend scheduled and offered to watch Cookie for us and our house while we were gone. Turns out she most certainly could have joined us at no great limitation especially on the financial side of things, but we were very pleased to have her drive us to the airport and pick us up, as well as taking care of Cookie and the house while we were gone for a few days. I was able to take a few days off work with bereavement benefits. Tom did not think Northrop provided that benefit anymore, but they do. Scott definitely could not join us with his extremely busy school schedule. 

So Tom and I met Dad Seitz at the Sarasota airport Saturday morning after a very pleasant and quick flight down. We stopped into Costco on the way to his place in Venice to pick up some supplies and have lunch. We did a drive by on the old Bozyk homestead in Nokomis and then spent the afternoon waiting for the rest of the family to arrive at Dad's place and relaxing on the front porch(and quickly working on a puzzle Dad had started for us!). That evening we had a wonderful meal provided by the neighbors in Dad's Senior Community. Afterwards, we were met by Tom's brother Mark, his wife Linda and their son Eric along with a few of Tom's cousins on the Seitz side of the family-Julie and Jane. Their brother Paul arrived on Sunday. So we spent the evening watching football and catching up. We were all staying with Dad at his place, and he was able to utilize a rental unit in the community for the two sisters. Nice to all be together since we got to spend more time visiting. 

On Sunday morning we headed to church for mass and then home for lunch. The cousins decided to take a walk through downtown Venice and do some window shopping since most stores were closed for the day. It is still considered "off season" in Florida. They also stopped by the Veteran's cemetery where Mom S will be laid to rest as it really is a remarkable place. Since it is a military cemetery, it has quite a few monuments as well as historical markers depicting the progression of the many wars the US has been involved in with photos and stories. I also dropped into the Venice cemetery to pay my respects to my side of the family, including Dad Bozyk who has been gone now for 6 years. Afterwards I took Eric to the Nokomis beach with me for a wonderful walk on the sand while we collected seashells, and then a quick dip in the warm ocean waters. So relaxing! Just couldn't find any shark teeth this time. We then headed back home since we needed to get cleaned up as the whole family joined together with dinner at Carrabas. A very enjoyable meal and visit with the family. Tom's sister Susan and her husband John also joined us. It was wonderful catching up with everyone and afterwards we shared a birthday cake in honor of Jane's upcoming special day. 

On Monday we all met at church in the morning for Mom's service. It was very special as the priest was able to make the ceremony very personal for our family and for Bonnie Seitz. Tom, Mark and Eric all had a part in the readings during the mass, and Linda and I carried up the Eucharistic gifts. Prior to the service, Mark gave a very touching and tender eulogy for his mom. After the service, we met back at Dad's place for a cook out lunch and were joined by a few of his neighbor friends. The meal was terrific and we were back on the road to the Veteran's Cemetery in Sarasota where both Mom and Dad S will be laid to rest. We had a scheduled time for a prayer service in the cemetery with the Deacon from the church, but he did not show up and the church secretary did not know where he might be. We waited about 30 mins and then left with the representative from the cemetery showing us the location of the headstone and plot for the burial. 

The girls did not make the graveside service as they had already headed to the airport. We each went our separate ways, with Tom and I having dinner with Susan and John at a local seafood restaurant and stopping by their house for a quick visit. We also dropped off a flower arrangement to the facility where Mom had been cared for these several years. Mark, Linda and Eric had dinner out and stopped into visit the new baseball stadium near Venice, CoolToday Park, home of the Atlanta Braves training camp. Dad S I think was just happy to have a little quiet time after a very busy, emotional day. We all came together at night to visit, catch up with more football(crazy Ravens game) and then call it a day since Mark, Linda and Eric had an early flight the next morning. Tom and I had a late afternoon flight on Tuesday, so I was able to get in a water exercise workout in Dad's large community pool. The water temp was perfect during the day, and I only had to share the pool with one other resident. I had hoped to catch the community pool class, but it is held MWF. Tuesday was chair aerobics and I really wanted some swim time. Afterwards it was time to dress, pack, have lunch and head to the airport. Another lovely (and fun flight since our flight attendant had lots of puns and silly stories/jokes to keep us entertained on Southwest). I was also happy to finish watching "Cruella" on Tom's phone through Southwest wifi and start "NomadLand". I need to see the end of this one. (2020 film about a woman who loses her home during the recession and lives in her van, traveling the western portion of the US and working odd jobs at Amazon, the local campgrounds, even Wall Drug before they all close for the season. Made it tough to try to watch my movie and listen to the funny flight attendant as we descended into BWI airport!

So the flights were very quick and pleasant, even with masks. Allison was able to pick us up at the curb after we grabbed our suitcases and drive us home. We are grateful for her for watching the house and taking care of Cookie. She even joined me at the nail salon the week before we left for a much needed mani-pedi. Also nice to have time to sit and catch up with each other. Allison also stayed busy while we were gone attending a family birthday party at Gabe's parents house and an engagement party for friends. Her social calendar stays very busy!

And even though our family visit in Florida was for a sad event with Mom Seitz's passing, it was wonderful to spend time with family and even just to get away for a few days from our crazy schedules. Dad Seitz did an incredible job hosting all of us at his place, and Susan Seitz did an amazing job scheduling the service. She even passed out some of Mom S's favorite treats after the service-chocolate truffles! And she  made up her own prayer cards with a packet of wildflower seeds attached-can't wait to put them in my garden next spring.  

It was nice to have a short work week after returning home. Although it seems quite a few of our staff also needed time off for funerals. One of my coworkers older brother died suddenly and our SW lost her aunt and a family friend all in the same week. Although thank goodness none of it from COVID at least. Even my older brothers lost a very close high school friend due to a stroke. Definitely reminds you to make the most of every day with the ones you love. 

And back in Baltimore I was trying to organize moving a hospital bed into Mom Bozyk's apartment. The nurses reported it has been getting more difficult for mom to get out of bed at night to get to the bathroom with her bad knee. So instead they'd like to change her in bed and keep her head and feet elevated too. But since there are so many more restrictions with COVID, they won't allow the equipment vendors to come into the building and maintenance has to set up the bed. But they don't work on the weekends. And Tom and I needed to move Mom's current twin bed and headboard out of her room, but not until she had a replacement bed. What a scheduling nightmare. Plus the equipment company did not tell me that I had to pay the copay first before they would deliver it. They don't send a bill and you have to pay over the phone or give them a check when they drop it off-COD. Tom and I managed to pick up Mom's headboard over the weekend. It was good to see her and I brought her a Fall coloring book that I picked up in Florida. While Tom disassembled the headboard and hung a few pictures in her apt, I sat with mom while she colored in the main dining room since we stopped in after dinner. He also had time to reset her tv channels and the telephone. We discovered she had a power outage in her bedroom which they fixed when the hospital bed was delivered. So Tom and I brought the headboard home and picked up Mom's mattress and frame that maintenance took apart on Monday night which they left at the back loading dock after they set up the hospital bed. Then I dropped off some more supplies and put away some of Mom's summer clothes and hung up her fall long sleeved shirts. I will have to stop into her storage and pick up more of her fall and Halloween decorations. I also brought her a new rollator since the old one was really starting to wear out. 

I used it to bring in a whole bunch of birthday surprises for Mom who celebrated her 86th birthday on Sept 19th! Since we were in Florida that day, I spent some time with Mom on Friday night before we left on Saturday morning. I brought in a chocolate cake for mom in the evening after work and some cupcakes for the staff, a big balloon and flower arrangement plus some new shirts and sweaters, body spray, jewelry and of course, chocolates! Mom seemed more interested in eating the chocolate cake rather than opening her gifts! She pointed right at the cake-I got the message! And the staff said she has not been eating as much-she definitely has lost some weight, but she can afford it. But she has not lost the love for everything chocolate! She had no problem finishing her cake on her own. 

October is just around the corner when everything seems to speed up, especially with all the holidays. I am still working on getting my hip surgery scheduled as they are booked up through November. Just waiting for their surgery schedule to open up for December or maybe January 2022.