A week in Chicago

It's been over a week now. The first part of the week was crazy with travel, arrangements, family, chaos, etc.
Tuesday was a major recouperation day. I tore mom's house apart and cleaned top to bottom. Julie had off work. Julie, Me and JoEllyn all took our spouses and kids to the park. I approached mom Tuesday afternoon with an idea. See, everytime I'm here, mom says "I wish we had more time, we could do...", "I really need your help on this project.", etc. SO...quietly and gently, I sat her down and explained all my reasons for moving quickly and I would understand if she wasn't ready, etc. She agreed! My idea is to completely empty, sort, organize, box, and label dad's train room. This will be a big job, so David is taking my kids to Julie's in the morning and then they will all go to JoEllyn's in the evening (cause Julie works and JoEllyn babysits).
So, Wednesday morning, David took all the kids and to work I went. Mom had lots of phone calls to make...insurances, social security office, and that night she went to church. I did it...1AM, I finished the last bit of the train room. I feel so good, I'm hoping it will motivate me to work on my hobby room when I get home!
Thursday, my sister in law Carol had off of work. We mainly waited around all day for everyone's schedules to mesh. LOL. We ended up just cooking a big dinner. Carol and her kids came and just as they were leaving, JoEllyn and her kids came. That was cool. The kids got to play with seperate families of kids for a bit at a time, and everyone enjoyed a good meal. This is nice!
Friday I spent the day thinking about if I should go home with David or not. I have tons of reasons to stay and just a couple to go. David was very insistant that I stay. He knows it won't be possible for m to come back for a very long time! And, he wants me to help mom as much as possible. Plus, I think he wants a break from my bitching, LMAO. So, we're staying. We went to my Aunt Jill and cousin Corie's house in the evening. Man, the kids did well again! Played nicely with thier cousins, listened fairly well, enjoyed the animals. Luckily thier house is more child friendly then most, so it made it easier, but I was enjoying the not having to be on edge and yelling too.