Avoiding Caregiver Burnout

 The Son had to be at Work by 5:00 a.m. at his Store Today so I drove him, even tho' Tonight I'm working at the Antique Mall from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., so rising this early may be a big Mistake?  *LOL*  Princess T better get off at or before 3:30 p.m. Today or I'll have to ask if her Boyfriend can pick her up and take her Home after Work.  It takes 20-30 Minutes to go to Work for me now, not due to distance, but due to heavier Traffic and all the Construction going on.  It used to take about 8-10 Minutes before Urban Sprawl has gone too dense in this area now.  We're very near Two Freeways so it was bound to happen tho'.  It used to be Commercial Agricultural Land around here mostly or Raw Desert, but the City grew up around us and greedy Developers offered the Commercial Farms a Deal they couldn't refuse for all their Land.  After probably greasing the Palms of City Planners and Officials to rezone it all, and so now here we are.   Our Mini Farm Community established in the early 1960's is like an Oasis now in the Urban Sprawl.

You can see how much Greener our little Community is compared to what's surrounding us of Residential densely packed Subdivision Hells and Commercial Properties now.  Tho' most of those Subdivisions are Lake Properties since Manmade Lakes and Riparian Areas were built within them to attract folks back in the 1980's and 1990's when they were established.   Now, newer Development are these massive Apartment Complexes and seas of tiny Cottage Apartment Complexes, since Home Ownership is difficult now.  Our Properties more than doubled in Equity in just 5 Years to an Average now of between $700,000 to well over a Million for the Mini Farms in our Community.  We got in under the Wire when we Bought just before Pandemic and when Interest Rates were 2%.  *Whew, perfect Timing*  Now the Retired Bank Executive in me checks current Listings to see how Value is holding up in our Community and to lurk at Neighbors Homes up For Sale.  *LOL*  The one Below is a Cool Million Three Hundred Thousand on one of the larger Acreages Corner Lot a few Streets behind us, I like what's been done to it, a Thoughtful Tasteful Remodel Update of a Vintage Era Home:

  Right now there's only 3 Properties up For Sale in our Community.  This One I Shared is well over a Million and has been Remodeled in trendy Urban Farmhouse Style, a beautifully Remodeled 1973 Contemporary Style Vintage Home with 5 Bedrooms and 4 Bathrooms, on a larger Acreage, probably 3 Acre Parcel Corner Lot, with a Pool Package to Die For, with big Poolside Grotto and Playboy Manse Style Party in the Back Backyard.  They spent a lot Remodeling and Modernizing this 3,500+ large sf Home.  The other Two are in the high $600,000 range, meaning they probably need a lot of Work and Money to renovate, coz that's now a Bargain to get in here.  Home Flippers are now eyeballing that price point and larger Properties now for Selling to the Wealthy who Buy them up to make into Air B&B Party Houses or Wealthier Clients coming from expensive States like Cali, Washington, and the East Coast, where, Arizona still seems like a Bargain and you get more for your Million Dollar Listing Investment.  If I was a Player for a Million Dollar Listing I'd Buy it.  But, that's a lot of House and Upkeep, tho' for 3 Generations packed together, would be enuf Living Space again.  We could use 5 Bedrooms and 4 Bathrooms for our 6 Living here.  *LOL*

Okay, so after Lurking at Neighborhood Listings for Blog Fodder, I know that I've definitely bought in the Right Location, Location, Location for the Price I Scored our Property at when the Higher End and Luxury Home Market was still in Crisis Mode, but ready to gain in Value again.  *Smiles*  The Villa McManse I Sold hasn't fared as well coz tho' it was a Semi-Custom Million Dollar Listing when built, the Market bottomed out. Wrecking 3/4 of the Original Value, and it's recovering so slowly it may take a Generation for them to break even if they paid the original Million Plus for those Homes.  Which, I must say, for Million Dollar Listings were not built well and why the Builder, Trend Homes, went Chapter 11 Bankrupt and got sued a lot for Construction issues.   I'd only paid $370,000 for the Villa McManse when the Market had crashed and to get my Grandkids Adopted, so I didn't give a shit about the Lawsuits.  I knew I'd make my Money when I flipped it and Cashed Out early coz I never intended to stay.  Too much House, fabulous interior and Design, but poor Construction and a shitty Community of pretentious fucks and a Devil of an HOA.  All to me Negatives and the Homes there had very high turnover, nobody stayed, so would never develop into a Community, just a Commodity to be Bought and Sold IMO.  So I did just that.

Folks who can generally easily afford Million Dollar Listings have Money to Burn and buy Homes as Investment Vehicles to make more Money.  And most in that Community owned those Million Dollar Arizona Homes as 2nd Homes they only spent a couple Weeks a Year at.  So, no telling what their Primary Residences were worth?   Most seemed to live permanently in States like California and expensive East Coast States, or Abroad where the Wealthy Foreign Born only Buy Vacay Properties in America to Own some American Real Estate and Buy the Country out from under us.   My Brother said that the Wealthy Foreign Born Buy 25 Million Plus Listings in California, coz a Million won't buy you a POS Property there anymore.   They tear Million Dollar Listings down in Cali to replace them with the Mega Million Dollar Properties the Elite and only Billionaires can afford.  It's beginning to happen here in the better Zip Codes too, they're like Locusts consuming Real Estate coz they have Deep Pockets and can Pay Off the Right folks to do whatever they want and get Zoning changed and weather any Lawsuits filed.  They don't have to intend to Win, just drag it out 'til the Opposition runs out of Money and drops the Case.

 

And these Billionaires and their Corporations don't even Care if they Lose in Court and have to pay Millions in Settlements if they've made Billions in Profits, it's a small Cost of the exploitation of The System to them.  No incentives, consequences or repercussions serious enuf to make them stop any of it.  And if they Paid Off all the Right folks, well, they know they Own them now and will always have Favor with who they Bought.  And so it goes and so I'm very Cynical that it will change for the better anytime soon when so much Money is to be made by the Wealthiest who Control everything and Fund whatever they wanna get done the way they want it to get done. 

 Regular folk don't stand a chance in that kind of System.  And I do think it's why the Far Right is gaining traction and tho' I don't approve of Extremism on either side, it's happening becoz the Ordinary Citizen is getting squeezed and screwed too much now and so can be lured into thinking even Extremism is better than what's the Status Quo right now that puts the Hurt on them.  It's Why this Conman Moron Career Criminal got Voted In actually.  He told them what they desperately wanted to Hear and Believe, gave them handy Scapegoats to Blame, Overpromised and Underdelivered, Playing them all for Marks as his intended Prey, coz Predators Study and Know about their Victims very well so they have a decent Success Rate of Victimization.  And if the Prey think the Predator is their Friend, well, it's the Oldest Ploy for Easy Pickins', isn't it?

Anyway, enuf of Politics, I'm sick to Death of Politics and Religious Zealots right now and don't have a good Opinion of either.  I got plenty going on every Day to Handle, so I take it One Day at a Time.  And I was really Cranky doing my Chores this Morning coz it's Hot and very Humid so I was sweating like I'd just jumped in the Pool with my Clothes on, very uncomfortable.  I have to Work Tonight for 5 Hours and so I don't wanna feel drained of all energy either.  But it gives me some respite from Caregiving for a few Hours while Comping me some Space Rent.  The Man annoyed me by just sitting there expecting to be waited on, I have to encourage him to do anything at all anymore and propping him up like that to be the least bit functional is fucking exhausting.  And I'm exhausted lately almost from the time I Wake Up anymore, no matter how much Rest I get, it's never Enough now.  And being Overwhelmed is a Constant so you do get Weary and even Bitter if you allow that to creep in as a Range of Emotion you'll Move thru on The Daily Grind of it all.

  I get angry and fed up, coz it never ends and coz he could do more than he pretends he can't do.  He's Clever like a Fox too at exploiting his Illnesses and Disability now.  Yes, he has limitations due to the progression of his Disease of his Mind and the deterioration of his Physical Body, I Accept that.  But... and yes that BUT is what Frosts me, sometimes he'll do or say something that just Winds my Ass up... mebbe on Purpose??!!!  He can see and knows I'm overwhelmed and have too much to do and he'll make a request in the middle of it to where then he knows I'll fucking forget what I was then doing due to his distraction and blow the fuck up!!!  And then he'll act like I'm the Villain of this Story and he's a Victim of me being problematic.  I've already done about 3 Hours of Work before he even rolls out of Bed most Days and does Nothing all Day.  Then the Caregiving begins and ensuring he's Medicated, situated, Dressed in Clean Clothes, has something to Eat or he won't eat a damned thing but sneaking Snacks all day.  He will not Feed himself anymore, sometimes it's a battle for us to get him Fed now and properly hydrated, he is so resistant and contrary with the Dementia, more so than when it was just the Traumatic Brain Injury.

He will say, "I need a Drink, Honey."  Right when I'm trying to Organize our Medications on a Thursday Morning for the next full Week of taking them!  And you almost need to be a fucking Pharmacist to do that with the amount he takes, it's literally a BOX filled that is larger than a Shoebox and Three Pages of Meds and Instructions to Check off methodically!  That the Docs change up a lot, so I have Notes all over the place on all Three Pages too of Changes!   So you can't get interrupted in the midst of it or you risk fucking it all up and forgetting where you were in the Laundry List and what needs to be taken and when!   So when he did that Today, I was already Shaking a lot, which I Shake a lot due to a lifelong Neurological Thing, which makes handling Pills harder, I was dropping Pills on the fucking Floor and having to get down there and under the Sectional to retrieve them!  *Le Sigh & Dammit... fuckity fuck fuck!  As I Shake and drop yet another one trying to keep my Head in the Game, finish up the Task quickly, and ignore his fucking poor timing interruptions!*

Coz then he interrupts me about that Drink he doesn't have, when I'm painstakingly getting up off the Floor after dropping another Pill that rolled under the Persian Rug, don't ask me HOW... no idea... and I accidentally put his fucking Night Meds in the Morning portion of his Pill Box due to his untimely distraction!!!   Oh well, I couldn't see which Pill it was to correct it, they all look so similar.  So he can just take his Melatonin in the Morning and conk out, I don't fucking Care at this point coz I will be at Work Tonight and the Kids can Deal with it and him in my absence.  *LOL*   Yeah, it's Funny NOW!  *Winks*  And... Well, the Fridge isn't that fucking far from his Media Chair and he has his Walker right there!  So it's not as if his Legs don't Work and he couldn't Walk his Happy Ass over there to get it himself!  So I came rather unhinged and unglued about getting him his Drink, coz I really didn't wanna fight or get over-reactive about a Juice so that he could take his Pills.  Or drop them all over the Floor, coz he now had them all in the Palm of his Hand and would forget they were there if he had to get up and Walk to the Kitchen!!!

Plus, while I was in the Kitchen BY the Fridge is when he could have, and should have, mentioned he didn't have a Drink to take his Meds with, Right?  He knew he didn't have a fucking Drink there at the Media Chair. I didn't know that coz his Cup he uses isn't See Thru and he had it sitting there, so I assumed he had something in it still!!!  He'd been sitting there all Morning and rarely doesn't have a Refreshment at all times.  Anyway, it was the little things like that which can be the Straw that Breaks the Caregiver's Back at times.  *LOL and Smiles but Sighs*   And the Kiddos will get sometimes Pious about it and say for me not to get so Mad at Dad/Grandpa... 'til I turn the Caregiving over to one of them, then it's Otra Cosa when it's THEM Dealing with him and some of his Nonsense and Bullshit.  *LMAOROTF*  They don't last nearly as long as I do before they blow a Gasket with him.  And beg me to take over.  *Ha ha ha*  Thanks for the Vent... it's Helpful so I don't go Off Rails and Postal over Trifles or catch Charges.  *Winks*  I try to avoid Caregiver Burnout, it's a Gauntlet tho'... and like being in one of those Olympic Triathlons or Ironman Competitions you're a Contestant of.  Only no Medals, Recognition, Monetizing or Sponsors.  *Le Sigh*

In Real Time, Tomorrow will be The Young Prince's 26th Birthday on August 8th!   My Birthday is on the 16th and I do Plan to have a Me Day doing something, anything, just to Unwind and Decompress.   This is Publishing way into Late August coz I'm still Blogging so far ahead in Unpublished Posts but it's Working well for me to so I don't Plan to stop now.  *Ha ha ha*  It's the only thing getting done with any consistency and voluntary effort, Trust and Believe, everything else takes all of my pushing myself hard to do Daily now.   I don't wanna do much of it anymore, I really don't and would rather not if I had Options.  But, there aren't any Options and so we Press On, with a certain amount of resentment that the Retirement Years have so much fucking Work in them for me that it's not at all what I envisioned doing once I Retired from The Corporate Grind, I can tell you that!!!  *Le Sigh*  I had lofty Dreams of what my Retirement would look like, be like, hold for me that would be highly Enjoyable and Carefree.  Filled with Travels and things to look Forward to doing... or just Leisurely doing Nothing!  Yeah, I was completely Delusional, clearly, it didn't hold that at all.

By the time I even got the last Grandchild Raised I was damned near 70 and Himself was well over 70 and I'd actually been Single Parenting since 2013 due to his Catastrophic Accident and Brain Damage.  Plus, even during his long Military Career he was deployed so much every Military Spouse left behind to hold it down and keep it together is Single Parenting most of the time too.  But, I'd been an Actual Single Parent for over 7 Years before I even met The Man, so, I had Experience at it and could Support a Family on my own at least.   Now most One Income Families can't even make it no matter how much they Work to Provide.  You really do require a minimum of Two Incomes and some Two Income Families aren't making it either now.  So, at least back then my Income was a good one and sustained us.  Even once The Man was Medically Retired and we fought for his Disability Income, that was established at 100% Service Related, but took 18 Months to even begin to Receive. Which was long before he was Old enough to draw his actual full Pensions like Social Security and Qualify for Medicare to pay some of his Medical Expenses when the VA and TriCare wouldn't.   So, we are used to an Uphill Battle, it's just more Tiring once you get Older and I'm risking Burnout again.

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Trudging Onwards tho' in the Arizona Desert... taking it One Day at a time... Dawn... The Bohemian

Some More Good News

 Today I did notice that all the Stores pushed out all the Holidays at once now, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  *LOL*  And coz the Economy sucks I guess they just want it out there long enuf to Sell most of it?   I mean, if you have August thru November and December for your Customers to fund the purchases and be able to afford it, then it might just Sell?   I don't mind it at all, coz I like trawling the Shops and looking at Holiday offerings, it's uplifting and Lord knows we need that.  It's a festive atmosphere put out early, so what?  I'll indulge myself in some premature Holiday Escapism that brings me Joy and something Positive to look forward to, why not?  *Winks*

When picking Princess T up their Collectibles Section at SAVERS had Five 1990's Local Yearbooks so I snapped them all up coz they had them priced low and it was Customer Appreciation Day, so, for Four Bucks each, Booyah.  I can resell these Locally easily, I'm sure someone wanting a replacement Yearbook or who never got one would be Jazzed to find one.  But, I have a fondness for just Keeping Old Yearbooks, and Local Yearbooks in particular when I find them secondhand, even if not of my School.  I've Sold quite a few tho' and they can fetch a good price coz Yearbooks when Issued were never inexpensive anyway.  I was in Yearbook Class as an Elective in my Senior Year, Wish I'd always taken that Class, it was so much Fun and I learned a lot.  I've picked up Local Yearbooks from E-Bay too, mostly from the early 1970's.

I'm guessing some are coming up For Sale as that Era of folks are dying off and their Families are Selling Off their stuff rather than keeping Nostalgic and Family History items that mean nothing to their Heirs?  I am glad some end up Donated or Sold rather than just thrown away at least.  I am a long time Preservationist of the Past and have a Love of Old.  In a disposable Society tho' it's not something a lot of folks have any Interest in unfortunately.   I Scored an Old Canvas Hat Form at the GOODWILL for $7, so was Jazzed about that.  I'd gone in to look at their Halloween Merch at that Location.  While they have Halloween rolled out I'm trawling as many Locations as I can find to see what they have of it.   I don't Buy a lot of Christmas Decor anymore but I do Buy Vintage Halloween when I find any I like and want.  I got more Halloween Paper Plates and Napkins cheap at SAVERS too.

I should knuckle down and do more Pokemon Card pricing and looking them up, but I'm not particularly motivated to do a lot of Work right now, so I'm not.  I'm vacillating wildly lately between being Slothful and being Productive.  *LOL*  It's super Hot and Humid Today and so being out and about, when I had to be in it, was draining Physically.  So now I'm back Inside and done Todaying for Today, I just wanna Blog and Cool Off... doing Nothing.  I had my Early Afternoon Siesta too, which now is habitual and I enjoy it, look forward to it actually.  Even some of the Young People my Grandkids Age that are Princess T's Co-Workers say that they take Siestas too and look forward to Napping Midday, if they're not pulling a Shift then, so, I don't feel like it's coz I'm just Old.  *LOL* 

The Kids there vie for my Attention, it's kinda Cute, coz they argue about who saw me first and got to say Hi to me first!  *LOL*  Kind of like when your Grandkids compete for your Attention, and it's Sweet and Comical to me, coz they're all great Young People of Princess T's Generation {in their late Teens or Twenties}, and some are the Ages of my Older Grandkids {in their Thirties}.  And the fact they go out of their way to get and have my Attention and talk to me is just Darling.  Princess T has been swapping Social Media information with the Co-Workers she's becoming good Friends with and said it has shocked her more than a bit how different some of their Professional Lives are from their Personal Lives!   And what they Share boldly and uninhibitedly on Social Media and don't make the Page "Private" and not just out there for anyone to view!

I always tell my Kids and Grandkids, keep it Tasteful on what you Share out in Cyberspace so it doesn't get misused or come back to Haunt you.  Above is one of the Granddaughters whose one of Princess T's Older Sisters in Mexico.  I'm a very Uninhibited Person myself and my Professional Life and my Personal Life were also starkly different.  But, that was in the Age before Social Media and I don't know that I would have "Shared" so much.  So, I did agree with her about the risk factors of having that out there.  *LOL and Winks*  She said she just wasn't expecting it, especially if the person is so Shy and reserved at Work and then at Play they are Girls Gone Wild!  *LMAOROTF*

  She did say it has been instrumental for her to decide who she probably would be reluctant to go out and Socialize with coz it probably wouldn't be her Jam, and I agree.  You can have Friends who you really enjoy, and really like, but you wouldn't necessarily go out Socially with or show up at their kind of Parties.  *Winks*  Princess T just is not Miss-Party-All-The-Time.  She doesn't Judge anyone who is, to each their own is our Mantra in Life without Judgment nor Condemnation.  But, I also Agree with her that it could Negatively impact someone's Professional Life to have too much "Out There".   And my Experience has been in Life, that it's the Quiet Ones you most get the Surprise of your Life about!   Some of them got their Freak Flags Flying High, High, High! *Bwahahahaha* 

 I remember in my Professional Lives it was always "The Suits" and "The Affluent" that were the Kinkiest and Freakiest folks by far!!!  *LOL*   And the DA's Office Sex Crimes Files revealed to me that some of the most Perverse folks were very often "The Churchy" folks!!!  Oh Yeah, you have no Idea!!!   And another awful Revelation was that most Victims of Sex Crimes are NOT Adults BTW, let that sink in too!!!  I think when they're Convicted it should be a mandatory Life Sentence for that kind of Crime coz they ALWAYS re-offend, it's not a matter of IF they will, just WHEN they will.  We kept their Files indefinitely for that reason.  And you don't want Pixs that should probably be more Privately Shared in the Hands of the Wrong People who are complete Rando Strangers.

Anyway, The Son is doing the Yard coz Irrigation is coming on Monday Morning.  He's had his Boss tell him that when Irrigation comes he can Clock Out to do it for me, then Clock back In and just work over to make up the Time, which is very considerate of that Employer to be that flexible and accommodating.  She knows I fell that time trying to do Irrigation with him and he gets Anxious about me doing it with only the Help of his Niece.  She's not all that Strong with being a tiny little Sprite, so I have to be The Muscle if the Gates don't drop or lift easily and you're up on fucking Planks above Water doing that.  Which, isn't Safe at my Age, I know this fact, but, it has to be done.  Anyway, it's around 8:00 a.m. it's coming I think he said, so at least it will be Light already this time.  It will taper off in Rotations in the Fall to Once a Month, then Suspend for the Winter, but it's Weekly during the Summer Months and Bi-Weekly during the Spring Months.

I got Good News out of Oklahoma from my Cousin whose keeping me Updated about her Older Sister Wewokajanna who has TB.  Apparently she's no longer Contagious and out of Isolation, and got to come Home, she will be on a Med Regimen for 6 to 9 Months, and has a lot of Medications to take, but she might just be Okay.  *Whew*  The Emotional Support from Family and Friends saw her thru this, she didn't think she would have made it without it, she's a tiny little Sprite of a Woman like our Paternal Grandma was, but she is Tough as Old Boots too.  She's had a very hard life and lived longer than most of my Paternal Relatives have, but she's very frail and weak, so I was very worried about her.  

They lost their Older Brother only last Year.  And she almost lost her Youngest Daughter last Year too, who is only in her 40's, Mortality Rates are still very high with Tribal Members.  It was such Good News and answer to Prayer that she pulled thru and is Healing in the Right direction, we Pray she makes a complete Recovery and her Lungs Heal from the ravaging of the Disease.  I thought it had been left too late since she only goes to the Indian Hospital, and they didn't even Test everyone else right away either.  Which would and should have been done lest it spread like Wildfire in the Community.   As far as I've heard no other Family Tested Positive when they all finally got Tested, anyone who'd been around her for 2-3 Years had to be Tested, so they must have thought she'd had this a long time without Diagnosis or Treatment?  And I know she's been Hospitalized regularly for other things, since, she's in her 70's.

This is that Cousin's Parents, when they were both still Alive, with one of her Nieces, who is a Two Spirit Person.   Their Dad is my Dad's Older Brother, they had Three other Brothers Younger than them that never made it to Maturity.  They had Six Sisters, who all did reach Adulthood.  I only ever knew One of their Sisters,  who was their Youngest Sister, and came to live with our Dad once she was Widowed.  I only ever saw One or Two Photos of one of their Older Five Sisters, no Photos exist of the Oldest Four that I know of.  I don't have very many Photos of these Cousin's Parents or mine, since neither Family owned a Camera until I was Grown.  So, except for Pixs that other people took with their Cameras, we rarely had any taken.  I guess that is part of why I'm such a Pathological Picture Taker now, to make up for that and have more Family Photos for Future Generations of Past Relatives Preserved.  And why my Cousins and I now Share a lot of what Photos we do have, Online now so we all have at least some of the few ever taken. 

This is my Favorite Photo taken of my Dad in the very early 1970's on our way to be Stationed at Luke AFB in Arizona, since he would be Retiring after 27 Years of Military Service in just a few Years after we got here.  The Photo was taken on the Rez in Oklahoma, since, my Dad had never taken us Kids there during his long Military Career and wanted us to see where he grew up and meet Paternal Family and his Culture.  Coz we were always being Assigned all over the U.S. and the World, so we never got to see our Paternal Relatives in Person until I was 16 Years Old.  It was the first time meeting my Paternal Grandma before she Died, I was legit Scared of her, she was a Hardened Old Woman covered in Tribal Tattoos.  And how I look, less Indian, didn't set well with her and I knew it.  So, that was uncomfortable and we never became Close and she definitely didn't like my Mother, she didn't like that Dad had Married a European and thought my Mom to be a Welsh Witch and probably a Skinwalker who Casts Spells on People.  *LOL*  Well, Mom did... to be Fair to Gramma's Observations.  *Ha ha ha*

My Cousin who is recovering from TB is in the Middle of this 1966 Photo of her with the Two Siblings.  My Male Cousin either had a Mohawk or very long Hair except when he was in the Marines. I could see why when my Mom initially visited the Rez in 1953 when she first came to America, it was way worse and she told my Dad, forget about it, we're NOT living like that, ever, and my Kids are not being Born in this Country, due to how they Treat your People.  She was Fearful of giving Birth to Mixed Race Children here during that Era, rightly so.  And so my Brother and I were both Born in Great Britain, me in St. Asaph, North Wales, my Brother in Warrington, England.   They didn't have Incubators in the Hospital he was Born in and he only Weighed 3 Lbs. so they put him in a Bread Basket on a Radiator my Mom said and he wore 9" Doll Clothes that were too big on him!  I kept his Blue Hand Knit Baby Sweater with Pearl Buttons for Years and put it on my favorite 9" Baby Thumbelina Doll with a Cloth Horsehair filled Body, and it fit her better!  *LOL*

 This is a fancier early Thumbelina somewhat similar to my cheaper version that my Parents said at Age Two I tried to Shoplift from Woolworths, it was $1 and my Parents were Poor and so that was Sacrificial... but my Dad reimbursed the Store when he realized I'd boosted it.  *LOL*   I still have that Doll, my Kids and Grandkids played with her, she's duct taped on her Aging Cloth/Horsehair Body to keep her together now since her Arms and Legs kept falling off... and they always Named her "Old Baby". *Smiles*   If I knew where she was in The RV Garage Mahal I'd Photograph her.  She now wears a Onesie bought in the early 1960's, I don't know if I still have my Brother's Newborn Knit Blue Sweater or not for her?  I Hope I do?  

 I was Born in a Hospital that as a Child, had been a Diphtheria Hospital that my Mom almost Died as a Child when she got that Disease that killed so many, and was sent there to either Recover or Die.  My Mom Survived Diphtheria, Scarlet Fever and her Younger Sister Survived Polio.  I Survived Rickets, and had Chickenpox and Measles... never got the Mumps, seems I had a Natural Immunity.  Got Vaxxed for Smallpox, which, they don't do anymore, my Kids never had that Vaccine.  It does worry me that with Quacks, Conspiracy Theorists and fake Doctors in charge now, and persecuting and trying to Prosecute highly trained CDC Advisors like Dr. Fauci, we're heading in the Wrong Direction Medically and Scientifically.  Dr. Fauci never had the Authority to make the decisions about the Pandemic, he was merely an Advisor and it was each State's Governors and the President ultimately responsible for what decisions were made and when.  So what's going on right now is Scapegoating and a Distraction dredging up what happened Years ago so they can evade what's happening now that they're ALSO 100% Responsible for and not taking Accountability for and Owning!

  But I digress.  By the 1950's that Diphtheria Hospital had been turned into a Maternity Hospital rather than an Isolation Hospital for Deadly Diseases, which, I thought that very Odd, people once sent there to Die in Isolation, now brought New Life there into the World.  In her Day a lot of Children Died of what Vaccinating Children Prevented by the time my Generation came around.  *Whew*  Which is why Vaccines have Saved so many Lives, especially Children.  Look in Old Cemeteries if you doubt Kids used to Die all the time from what are preventable Diseases now if they're Vaccinated.  That's why the Anti-Vaxxer folks are causing resurgences of once eradicated Childhood dangerous Diseases.  And their Kids Die needlessly from Preventable Illnesses.

It was a Culture Shock to us Kids to experience Reservation Life back then, even in the early 1970's, it was a very harsh hard Life and so extremely substandard I was totally unprepared.  I can only imagine what it was like when my Dad was growing up!!!   She didn't have Running Water, indoor Toilets, or Electricity for a long time, most of her Life.  Not too long afterwards, she did make it out to Arizona one time with my Dad's Older Brother bringing her to see us here in the 1st Home my Parents ever Owned in Phoenix.  She rarely left the Reservation and didn't like not being around her own People, becoz she didn't have a lot of Trust of Non-Indigenous People at all.  And I can't say I blamed her at all, I understood the Why by the time I was Old enough to have an understanding of this Country's accurate History not often, if ever, Taught in our Schools.   And the Whitewashing of our History continues and is actually Escalating under this Evil and Corrupt Regime.  I fear more Atrocities will happen if they are not Stopped in time...

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Blessings, Love and Light from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian