Feeling Kind of Useless...
Ever have one of those days where you feel like you can't make a difference? That was my day yesterday.
As some of you may have noted from reading below, R and I will be moving in a few short weeks into our house. This will leave our apartment vacant, and as many of you know, our apartment is an absolute steal in the rental market around here.
My sister also lives around here, and is looking to move out of her current place at the end of the summer. She currently has a very cute but very expensive studio in the downtown area. By moving into our place, she could reduce her rent by more than half what she is paying now, which would be fantastic for her.
So, R and I have been trying to facilitate this move for her by talking with our landlady. The main stumbling block? One 90-pound labrador retriever. Our landlady has a rather shoddy no-pets policy (I say shoddy because both she and our downstairs neighbor have had pets in our time there). She mainly seems to have a problem with dogs, but was willing to meet my sister and the dog to see if she could be swayed.
Suffice it to say that I don't think she was swayed. She said she would 'think about it' but that if my sister found something else in the meantime that she should take it. Hence my frustration - here we have a perfectly good win-win situation. My sister needs a cheaper place to live, and my landlady needs a new responsible tenant. You'd think we wouldn't have a problem here, but try as I might, I have absolutely no sway over the situation, and I feel bad about it.
Situation #2 involves my grandfather. He has taken a rather large turn for the worse, or a least a turn for the dramatic. He has been calling my poor mother at all hours, claiming this emergency or that emergency, which sends Mom off to his apartment to deal with whatever the crisis of the day is. From her description of events, it seems like he is angling for company more than anything, since half an hour after she arrives he is happily chattering away. He seems to have given up on taking care of himself though, and isn't cooking for himself/eating anymore, isn't shopping or doing laundry, and some days isn't even getting dressed. He is expecting Mom to come after/during work and do his cooking/cleaning/laundry, etc.
This is a bad situation for Mom, since she is working full time, and pulling extra duty on weekends in addition to basically playing full-time caregiver to my grandfather. I can hear how frustrated and tired she is, but again, their really isn't anything I can do about it short of moving back home. My sister and I went home Memorial day weekend to try and help out short term, and I think Mom was grateful, but it was simply a short-term band-aid for a weekend. So, that is the second situation that I wish I could help with more, but can't.
As some of you may have noted from reading below, R and I will be moving in a few short weeks into our house. This will leave our apartment vacant, and as many of you know, our apartment is an absolute steal in the rental market around here.
My sister also lives around here, and is looking to move out of her current place at the end of the summer. She currently has a very cute but very expensive studio in the downtown area. By moving into our place, she could reduce her rent by more than half what she is paying now, which would be fantastic for her.
So, R and I have been trying to facilitate this move for her by talking with our landlady. The main stumbling block? One 90-pound labrador retriever. Our landlady has a rather shoddy no-pets policy (I say shoddy because both she and our downstairs neighbor have had pets in our time there). She mainly seems to have a problem with dogs, but was willing to meet my sister and the dog to see if she could be swayed.
Suffice it to say that I don't think she was swayed. She said she would 'think about it' but that if my sister found something else in the meantime that she should take it. Hence my frustration - here we have a perfectly good win-win situation. My sister needs a cheaper place to live, and my landlady needs a new responsible tenant. You'd think we wouldn't have a problem here, but try as I might, I have absolutely no sway over the situation, and I feel bad about it.
Situation #2 involves my grandfather. He has taken a rather large turn for the worse, or a least a turn for the dramatic. He has been calling my poor mother at all hours, claiming this emergency or that emergency, which sends Mom off to his apartment to deal with whatever the crisis of the day is. From her description of events, it seems like he is angling for company more than anything, since half an hour after she arrives he is happily chattering away. He seems to have given up on taking care of himself though, and isn't cooking for himself/eating anymore, isn't shopping or doing laundry, and some days isn't even getting dressed. He is expecting Mom to come after/during work and do his cooking/cleaning/laundry, etc.
This is a bad situation for Mom, since she is working full time, and pulling extra duty on weekends in addition to basically playing full-time caregiver to my grandfather. I can hear how frustrated and tired she is, but again, their really isn't anything I can do about it short of moving back home. My sister and I went home Memorial day weekend to try and help out short term, and I think Mom was grateful, but it was simply a short-term band-aid for a weekend. So, that is the second situation that I wish I could help with more, but can't.
posted by Professor B at 11:11 AM
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