A cold wet June in Alberta

I am happy with my trip to Toronto.  But it made me feel that I should be there more.  I went to see my mom everyday, helped her with lunch and went for short walks outside.  Even though she didn't know who I was, she seemed to really like my company.  There is a volunteer, an older woman, who is her regular lunch helper during the week since the staff are kept busy at meals - most of the residents on her floor have to be fed and a lot of them are difficult.  Mom is the sweetheart of the staff - she eats very well and is very neat and tidy about it.  My dad visits every day but he doesn't do meal-times.  I get that he isn't comfortable with it.  Women are much better at that kind of thing - most of us handled the care and feeding of children and this isn't much different.

I came home with another cold.  I think living in a warm climate for an extended period lowers your immune system when it comes to viruses that float around in colder climates.  I usually don't catch these things often. To top it all off, the weather sucks.

I also came home to a very, very busy Mike.  Unfortunately, its all consulting stuff which keeps him from focusing on the software side.  But its a necessary evil since it keeps the bills paid.  He will be heading to Miami next week to launch a new consulting gig that will keep him employed over the summer.  He doesn't have to stay there for more than a week or two at a time.  Andy (the programmer) will be involved too. Mike needs to do some more following up on the investor presentations for OneFileEverywhere, but the team had a GotoMeeting demo of the software on Tuesday amongst themselves and the basic level of it is working well.  Our partner in India (and his family) are deeply involved in large construction and development projects in Delhi, which is perfect for market validation since OFE is a tool that will be very useful to that market.  So, they are going to find the right contact person there to talk to about it.  If he likes what he hears and validates the concept, then we may just find our investors in India.  Canadians, unfortunately, are not a country of risk-takers.  Mike and I are anomalies.  There are no Venture Capital firms in Canada, and the ones in Silicon Valley or elsewhere in the US prefer that the startup actually BE in the US.  Once we get rolling though, and we pop up on their radar, they will be more amenable.  But with Mike and Andy busy on consulting, it will be difficult to keep the ball rolling on developing OFE.  Geez, I wish I were a Java programmer!

Its our 10th wedding anniversary on the 15th so I have booked us into a new european-style boutique hotel in Calgary called St. Germain for Saturday night.  They are running a grand opening special.  Since we don't actually live in Calgary, but in a small community south of it, spending a weekend in the city is fun - as long as the weather is good!

Heading off to Toronto

I am flying to Toronto tomorrow to visit my mom and dad.

My mom is in full-time care for advanced Alzheimers at place not far from my family home.  My dad is 81 and took care of her by himself for a couple of years and is now on his own.  He visits her daily but she often isn't really "with it" and sometimes tells him to leave her alone now.  She gets around the floor of the wing in a walker and seems to enjoy cruising around, my dad says.  He often has to go looking for her when he arrives to visit.  Lately, he has been finding another patient, a man, in her room, even sleeping on her bed, when he arrives.  Of course, the man doesn't know where he is really.  Mom has been found in other people's rooms too.

Sunday is their anniversary.  The first one they have spent apart.  My dad seems to be adjusting well to the situation (mom has been in the home since February), but I think Sunday may be difficult.

I don't know how I will feel or react to seeing my mom.  I haven't been to visit her before when she was in this place.  She won't know who I am, I'm prepared for that.  But I don't know if I'm quite prepared to see her as a patient.  Anyway, I know she is being well-cared for - this place, Cummer House, is the best in all of Toronto.  My dad says he mainly eats frozen dinners for suppers, but he is pretty good about eating oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, a sandwich and fruit for lunch.  Not too sure about veggies - they used to be big on salads and stuff. I'm going to cook him some real food while I'm there (if he'll let me).

At least the weather is much better there - unless what we've been having is heading that way!