You've asked how you can help ...

I will never be able to adequately express the gratitude I feel to each and every person who has reached out to my parents, my sister and me during the last several months. You have shown a tremendous and humbling amount of love for my parents that has kinda really blown me away. 

If you have just now been referred to my blog to keep up with my parents, here's the quick update: Mom and Dad now live with me as my dad nears the end of his battle with cancer, and as my mother suffers from the after-effects of a massive stroke in October; she is unable to care for herself in any way. 

As more people have learned about my parents' health, Kim and I have been asked countless times, "What can I do to help?" or "If there's anything I can do to help, please let me know."

That's always hard to say, because we never know what's going to happen from day to day, but Kim and I have a few ideas. 

• Meal Train. Go to Jim and Nicki Wilcoxson Meal Train if you might be interested in bringing an easy meal to us. While I can and do cook (and bake), sometimes it takes more time and energy than I have. Mom takes full-time care, and though we have caregivers coming in, I still have a LOT of household upkeep going on and freelance work projects. Dorsey travels so much for work. Kim is trying to help Vince run their business, but she's doing it long-distance. We have a lot going on during a time when we need to be with our parents, and they need us.

• Call, visit, make contact with my dad in some way. While Dad's energy is limited, he still loves his friends, family and former players. I know many of you try to contact him, but, frankly, he's not good with the cell phone thing, and his home voicemail doesn't appear to be working. Call me at 806-236-0418 or text me. If you text, please be sure to identify yourself. I can pass messages to Dad so he can contact you. (If you want to visit, you are more than welcome, but please do so at your own risk! I say this because we live in a ZOO! There's a lot of fur in our house, no matter how much I vacuum every day. There are plenty of cat fights now that Chloe (Mom and Dad's cat) has joined us, and Indy and Koda (the dogs) beg for attention. I try my best to reign them all in, but I'm not terribly successful at all times. At least it can be entertaining ... ) 

• About my mom. You are welcome to visit her, but please know she is not the same as you remember her. She might know you. She might not. She might know you today but not tomorrow. Because of her deficits, truly, we never know what we are going to get. We want you to visit, but we also do not want you to leave upset because she is so different. It can be disconcerting, for sure. Sometimes, she's hilarious. Sometimes, she's tearful. Sometimes, she is completely nonsensical. And sometimes, she's so tired she cannot respond. Now that she is with us, however, we thankfully haven't seen the anger; hopefully, that will last!

• If you visit, call me first. Every day is different. Also, know that our caregivers are part of the package, and we need them with us. At least for awhile, they're part of the family. The only time we don't have caregivers with us right now is from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and after 10 p.m. We also have Mom's different therapies happening several times a week. The call is to simply make sure you get the most out of the time you are giving us.  Also, you MUST sign the guest book!

• Anecdotes, letters, stories. These are personally my favorite. I loved it the first time I asked for these to put together my parents' 50th Wedding Anniversary scrapbook, and I'll love it again. I promise I'll find something good to do with your stories, to share with my parents and with others. I especially would like to have these for Jordie and Cole to share with their own kids someday, too. 

• Are you a fixer-upper-handy person? While Dorsey can fix lots of things, he's also gone a lot, and sometimes, things come up that Kim and I can't do. We're even looking at the possibility of making the shower Mom-friendly. It's a little tight for her needs right now. We've spoken with the occupational therapist about this, and it may be more than we can afford at this time, but we want to see what, if anything, we can do. (I know many organizations offer assistance; however, we do not qualify.) Besides the shower, it seems something is always breaking ... like my back door or something else ridiculous. In addition, my parents still have their house. Things go wrong over there, too. And lately, it seems we've been having to move pieces of furniture here and there. Having a go-to person when Dorsey and/or Vince are unavailable would be great. 

• Want to kitty sit in the backyard? OK, so I know this sounds insane, but I have four indoor kitties who love love love to play in the backyard. (And I have been dubbed the crazy cat lady, you know. I wear that title proudly.) They are not trustworthy enough to just let out. We have to watch them because we don't want them to become missing kitties. When I am outside watching the cats, I can't really do much else, and while I love relaxing with them, there's not much of that right now. If my mom and dad are able to be out there with me, that's one thing, but if not, the cats stay inside and throw fits, which makes life difficult. (Cat people, you KNOW what I'm saying ...)

• Are you a dog lover? More specifically, do you love golden retrievers? Even more specifically, do you love Indy and Koda? These two babies have gotten a little neglected by all the chaos. Just a walk to the park and back is all they need every so often, especially when Dorsey is out of town. (Dog people, you know our animals deserve and crave our attention! They don't understand what's going on.)

• Do you like to mow and edge occasionally? Dorsey and I are the yard people at our house, now that Jordie is a college kid; however, my time is short and, again, Dorsey travels so much these days ... it's kind of feast or famine with his work travel. Are you someone I could call on if we are unable?

• Do you have a million dollars? Bahahahahahahahaha! 

Seriously, I know things can and will change as we walk this road. I'm sure some needs will come and go. Even if you can't do anything physically that we have suggested, I also know everyone has his/her own special talents and gifts. Your love, encouragement, experience, wisdom ... all of that ... are welcome. 

I think I've said this before, but since this has happened, because of people like you who have reached out and are reaching out, my faith in other people's goodness has been restored. 

That, alone, is plenty enough for me.