So.......our hard driven quest to get Mom to stand has taken a timeout of sorts.  The physical therapist has signed off, saying that there is not enough progress to justify her services to Medicare.  It was hard to hear.  Mom's favorite thing in life is to take a ride.  Doesn't matter where.  Never mattered when.  There was pure joy in seeing her face when I would say, "want to come with me to the store?" If she cannot bear her weight on her legs we cannot pivot her into the car seat.
     We DO get her out of her bed, recliner and room from time to time, especially when the weather cooperates.  Her wheelchair takes her to the addition and a visit with Hartley, our greyhound, and then further out onto the deck and even on to the driveway and street for a short "walk".  It's just not the same.  I miss my errand buddy.  I miss her commentary on flowering shrubs and trees and her delight in seeing the first robin of the season.....I miss her saying how nicely people keep their lawns and gardens.  I hear her voice when I pass a road sign with her maiden name, another with her grandmother's name, and another that she always commented on about sounding British.  I miss her saying,"Home James, and don't spare the horses", when we would take the turn onto our street.
      She lost a lot that day when the stroke hit.  We all did.