The right place at the right time....

I've been thinking of starting my own business for awhile now, a couple of years, to be exact. It all started when I realized that Grandma really needed some help to keep her lifestyle intact, but she lives in Richmond, and I live in Charlotte. Grandma loves her home, and really doesn't need or want to ever move and live somewhere else. Not even into this pretty little guesthouse I could have fixed up with her things for her.....

So, I started doing some research about a year ago. What I found was that there are really no widely known options for care for senior citizens who are healthy and able to go about their daily life with a little assistance. Assisted living homes are outrageously expensive, so that's not really an option for Grandma while she's totally healthy and independent. The type of home that you can get paid for with Medicare is not somewhere I want my loved one to live. Since Grandma doesn't want to come live with me (and being in her own home environment is what's really best for her), I needed to find someone who'd come to her.

Well, I had some around the clock nursing care for Grandma when she was recuperating from a broken hip. Grandma doesn't need that kind of care now. She needs someone to drive her to her appointments, to the bank, to get her hair done, and to help her plan, buy the ingredients for and prepare her meals (or she'll be eating at Captain D's and Aunt Sarah's every day....)

Finally, I found a little company that provided companion care for seniors. Aha! Here's someone who might be able to help! Well, kinda. See, the person the company sent to help Grandma had nothing in common with Grandma--socioeconomically, experience-wise or age-wise. They sent a young high school graduate from the inner city who had no idea what to talk with Grandma about, how to dress, or even how to act around Grandma. Grandma hated this option. Finally, when the girl got into a car accident with Grandma and the company didn't inform me, Grandma's car insurance company informed me, I fired them.

Grandma's hairdresser got my phone number from a relative, and called me to tell me about her friend Cindy who'd recently been laid off and had a real sweet way with her elderly neighbors. Thank you, God! I called Cindy, a couple of times, and developed a job description and a pay scale for her. As the weeks went by, I developed my oversight practices to protect Grandma's personage, her money and her routine. I utilized my family contacts to have people stop in and check up on Cindy, and along the way, I've developed my company's business model.

About a week ago, I sent out my first marketing effort. While I was on vacation, I made an appointment for my first interview. What I'm selling is exactly what this older couple needs--they've recently moved back home from their assisted living facility because she was so unhappy there she wouldn't go to the dining room to eat. I met her agency-provided caregiver yesterday when I returned from his doctor's appointment, and the lady hadn't eaten lunch and was miserably staring at some talk show about tattooed ex-convicts. The girl (another high school graduate who hopes to start college sometime) had no idea what needed to be done and Betty couldn't tell her, and was glad to have me give her some directions. I'll have her trained in a couple of weeks, and who knows? Maybe some one-on-one training will turn her into my employee #3!

I'm about to close my second client, a post-transplant home nursing job that I've contracted my friend's mother, a retired RN for tonight. Wish me luck!

Family Fun Plan--I'll be making updates.

Last Day of School - Drinks in the Driveway Neighborhood Party


Week 1 - The original plan was for Absolutely nothing. Maybe a visit to Virginia? How quickly it all changes.....

Monday: Trip to the Library

Tuesday: Checked out Nevins Park Sprayground and attended Grub Club at Latta Plantation Nature Center
Wednesday: Chores
Thursday: Scholars Academy Playdate at Latta Park Spraygrounds
Friday: Day trip to Cane Creek Park with friends and a birthday party

Weekend 1 - Music Festival (Cousins' Reunion) & Father's Day

Troop 2409

Mom, George & I took the kids to Imaginon over Spring Break. A good time was had by all, although boys are completely different from girls in their interpretation of "library voices."

The Brownies & I ran in the Thin Mint Sprint 5K and got our picture taken with US Olympian, Michelle Lewis. We enjoyed the rest of the day at Carowinds too.

Matthew & I joined some friends for the March for Midwifery in Raleigh. It's hard to believe our state won't license Certified Professional Midwives. We're making some headway, with a new bill that's moving through our state government.

I'm the Leader for Meghan's Brownie Troop 2409. It's been a lot of learning, and a lot of fun!

Our family ran the Get Your Rear in Gear 5K in memory of my Dad. It's a fundraiser for research to find a cure for colon cancer.

Matthew's everywhere. Calls himself "Woo Woo" as in "a toot-toot (train) says "woo woo." Rhymes with Matthew. Derived from "Foofoo..."

Meghan's First Reconciliation.

Michael's 6th birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese.

2011.....Let's Get Back In Touch!

So, the Wheelers closed out 2010 with a week-long visit to Virginia. Notice I didn't say, "I took a trip back home to Virginia." I know I've been busy having and raising 3 kids and all, but it was amazing to me how many members of my family I hadn't seen in almost 10 years!!! Maybe it was that realization, or maybe I have truly acclimated to the sunny Carolinas, but Virginia no longer feels like home to me, and instead feels like a favorite vacation destination. Kinda how UVA felt when we took the kids there for a visit last year. It's nice to realize that I really have built a life and put down roots in Charlotte.

So, we started off the week with a visit to Mom at her new home in Appomattox (yes, she's moved back to her hometown with her fiancee, George), where we have a lot of family. It was completely bizarre to me to be visiting Mom in the town where she and I always used to visit during the holidays--kinda like 2 realities colliding--and I think, no I know, that my kids are going to love the town for all the same reasons I did. I mean, we've got 2 family businesses to visit in the town (1 has really cool Bass Pro Shops stuff and scooters and bikes, and the other has some really sweet kitties hanging around), plus some cousins, some uncles, quite a few aunts, some ponds to fish in, some land to go shooting on, the Surrender grounds to explore and a Dairy Queen. What more could a kid ask for?

My cousin Sally was kind enough to invite the entire family (all branches of the Coleman family that still live in Virginia) to her home for a dinner party, and again, it was like 2 realities colliding--my Christmases past with my present--with my aunts and uncles sitting around the table talking while the kids were playing in the basement...only this time it was my generation's kids, yet my generation (the girls only of course) were all still in the kitchen while the guys watched football!!!! I wouldn't have changed a thing. I'm so glad my children had that experience--I always loved my family's get-togethers, and they're so lucky to have had the chance to meet their great-aunts and great-uncles and to meet their third cousins (yes, we're into the thirds, now). There's talk of doing this every year now that the kids have gotten old enough to make it easy--I don't think 50 people for dinner is ever easy, but Sally, Kim & Aunt Luella made it look easy. :)

Then, it was off to Richmond to visit with my Grandma, who is 91. This visit, we stayed at the Homewood Suites near Richmond Airport, because it came with a free breakfast buffet and a kitchen. Surprisingly, it also included a free dinner, and with the super deal I got from Expedia, the trip was downright affordable!!! We brought Grandma over for breakfast both days, and she got to eat for free too! Can't beat that, especially since we were spared the inevitable excruciatingly long ordeal of breakfast with Grandma at Aunt Sarah's. I don't know what impressed Grandma the most about the hotel, the beautiful decor, the fact that 2 meals a day were included in the room's price or that this was "that Paris Hilton girl's hotel." Grandma kept talking about "high society" and "that Hilton girl" while she was visiting us in our suite....I didn't have the heart to say that Paris Hilton's not my idea of "high society." Let Grandma enjoy her brush with fame. You don't get many of them at age 91.

I'd given her senior's companion, Cyndi, some time off for the holidays. That meant that I was there to take Grandma to her doctor's appointment on Wednesday and to run her errands with her on Friday. Grandma is an inspiration at her age--she's a testament to the benefits of never drinking anything but water, never smoking and always getting enough sleep. Not that any of that applies to me, but I'm just saying, it's worked for her. :)

That night, we met some dear friends, the Abplanalps, for dinner at Chuck E. Cheese's. With 5 kids under 10 and one expectant Mom and 2 Dads who needed to have some fun and blow off steam, it seemed an excellent option. While there's never enough time when you're dealing with toddlers' expiration points (or at least Matthew's), Ashley & I always just pick up where we left off and talk about what's really important. I love that about her, and I treasure our friendship. I'm blessed that she's always willing to make time for us when we're in Richmond.

My best friend for 24 years, Connie, also happened to be in Virginia for a family wedding this week from California, and she drove down to Richmond to spend an afternoon with me. We went out for lunch and then for coffee, and I thought, "now Grandma, THIS is high society. Who actually meets up with an old friend while they're on different vacations for lunch and a trip to Target?" We both bought copies of A Soft Place to Land and we have a date to discuss the book in 2 weeks.

As we both realized during our trip back to Virginia to see our families, life's about making the effort to stay in touch. It's very easy to get lost in the laundry, the dishes, the cooking and the homework that needs to be done, and look up to realize it's been 10 years since we last talked with someone important. Well, this year, it'll be 10 years since my Dad passed away from colon cancer. And, Meghan will be graduating from high school in 10 years. It flies by.

So, this year, I'm resolving to get back in touch with the important people in my life. I'm going to make an effort to find things in common with them again and renew those connections with family and friends that I've let dwindle. I'm also going to run the Get Your Rear In Gear 5K in memory of my Dad.

Getting in touch is probably easiest done online, so start checking my blog again. I'm always on Facebook, but I'm also going to try to share more details from the Wheelers here. Chime in when you want to--I want to hear from you!

Wishing you peace, love and happiness in 2011!