Day 179. Getting everything ready

Today I arrived in Monclova, to help my sister in law, Mimi, and my brother in finalizing the arrangements for the retirement home of my parents. My Mom, la Ma, walks with help of a walker, so we needed to find a house without stairs, in a nice and safe neighborhood, and close enough to services such as supermarket, pharmacy, and small restaurants. Mimi was absolutely wonderful and prowled the streets of Monclova for just the right place until she found it!

Here is a photo of the front of the new house. Note the solid fence (for safety sake), the parking spot on the right, and the small shaded porch on the left. Sitting at the porch one overlooks, across the street, where the football little league (los Potros de Monclova) holds its afternoon training sessions. One enters the house through a small hall, where two comfortable arm chairs and a small table provide an excellent setting for afternoon card games, and from there into a spacious living-dining room. The kitchen is ample enough and modern, and a breakfast counter connects it with the living-dining room. In the back of the house there is a small bathroom and the two bedrooms. Finally, there is an outdoors corridor that connects the front yard with a back yard that is well appointed for barbecueing. Everything is flat and accessible to my Mom’s walker, the colonia is nice and with all the needed comforts, and it is just 10 minutes by car from the house of Mimi and Armando! The kennel is all of 20 minutes away by car, so it will be an easy commute for my Dad.

As you can well imagine, the main reason for the move is so my parents are close to my brother and his family. This includes Mimi and Armando 2; grandson Renan, his wife Sandra, and great-grandson Angelito, occasional visits from Monterrey by grandson Armando 3, his wife Moni, and great-grandson Armando 4; and the staff of my brother’s house, all of who are quite fond of my parents. A great improvement over living alone in the crazy hussle and bussle of Mexico City!

Reflecting on the big life change they are undertaking, I note that both my parents are in their 80’s, I am 55, and my daughter is 30. That means that in 25 years I will be 80 and my daughter will be 55. I think I will choose that moment to leave my bachelor’s life, and will have Faby move me into an apartment in Chico, so I can be close to her, DJ, and my granddaughters. That means that she will need to clean my house not only of the thousands of books I have accumulated (and will continue to accumulate), but also of all the junk she left behind in her younger packrat years. Fitting poetic justice, don’t you think?