Fried day

Took the morning off to see my elder care lawyer in New Jersey. My brothers and sisters and I have been struggling to take care of our Mother since her stroke several years ago and fighting with Medicaid to have her receive aid to pay for her assisted living. Not a fun thing to do so we hired a lawyer to help us out. They believe that she's not eligible because she has children and property. Well, the house can be gifted to my brother so that it's not under her name. My sisters are married and the financial responsibilities for my Mom should come from her sons. But my brothers have been laid off and have been finding temporary work. So the bulk of her payments are paid by me. I had to go in to sign a statement that I provided care for my Mother after she had her stroke. She lived with us and we were her caregiver. So at that time, she didn't need the aid, but to continue to do so is a hardship on the family. She needs 24/7 attention that none of us can or are qualified to provide. But she's very happy with her living situation. Good news though, it seems with our lawyer's help, that Medicaid will approve my Mom so she can continue with the care she needs. It's so stressful to care for an aging parent. It's difficult to take on the role of parent when their needs become more childlike.
Leaving the lawyer's office made me feel odd to be away from my usual NYC routine. But what a warm and beautiful day. wow. It even makes Jersey City look kinda nice. No jacket required weather. But this warmth came too fast. It's making me feel lazy. I feel so unfocused. Dealing with family matters and the end of a whole work week on top of the weather change is making me tired.

Missed Adam's birthday breakfast. Happy Birthday Adam Bomb!



Marina came by. The cover that she designed for me about survivor stories of the Chernobyl tragedy just came in from the printers. Her family is from the Ukraine and I thought she would bring a personal depth to the design. It's a joy to see something printed the way you imagined it. A white and black design. She did a beautiful job. Her friends contributed hand-lettering of some of the survivor's recollections. After work we had drinks and tapas at Lucy's. Tive met us and joined us for a drink. Afterwards we sat outside to enjoy this beautiful night weather. A little breezy but it still brings back memories of lazy summers past.

I then went over to Bouche bar in the East Village for Rose's birthday party. Olga was hosting and decorated the birthday cake. The bar is a small place where Rose occasionally DJs. It was a nice turnout and fun. Drinking, dancing. But the day was catching up to me and I was getting tired. So I'm calling it a night.