My sweet readers, I want to thank you for all your comments and encouraging words. Right after I wrote the last blog, the weeping stopped. Since then, my son and I have been busy preparing for the move. I spent hours filling out paperwork for Homeplace and VA. Mark, our son, began to choosing photos and making lists. So much to do..... Today, Robert came to take Jerry to the movie so we could get things together without Jerry seeing. We had a 3:30 deadline. It has been a day where we both felt rather anesthetized. We’ve been going through Jerry’s clothes; one stack to go with him, one stack to go to the Goodwill, and one stack to go in the trash. It was mind boggling that we were doing this. As we rummaged through the clothes, there were sentimental memories. My hardest to see were his dress clothes. He always looked so handsome. Mark always liked to take Jerry shopping and dress him all “cool”, so those outfits he kept for himself.....and his hat....I wanted Mark to have his hat. All the clothing needed to be labeled, packed and taken downstairs. One of the JV’s came to pick up all the things that needed to go to Homeplace. Along with the clothes were a table, lamp, and bedding. I decided to send the painting of Montana and the painting of us dancing on the deck.

The girls are coming in tomorrow night. We’re we’re still trying to come up with the perfect drop off plan. There is no easy way, but we’re trying to find the least sobby painful way.

I received a couple great tips today from a friend who’s already been there.

1. Write a note, “Jerry’s Gems” that explains who Jerry is, what he likes, etc. Print, in large print, easy tips that will give the staff a clue of how to work with him.

2. Keep things simple in the room. Not much clutter on the desktops or tables.

Just wanted to keep you posted and thank you again for your thoughts and prayers. Two days to go ’til check in.