Belt THIS Up

Trying to keep M in his pants and his pants all belted up has become a challenge. I’ve talked about how he’s been struggling with how to thread his belt through the loops in his pants, where to start the belt when he’s threading it through, how to fasten it . . . and then when he takes his pants off, he will worry with where his belt is and how it is looped and sitting on a shelf or on the dresser.

It’s like that belt has become the most important thing in the world. And yet, it’s causing the most aggravation.

I’ve suggested sweatpants and/or soccer shorts – both have elastic waistbands and don’t need/don’t have loops for a belt.

No! He wouldn’t even consider it.

As we were watching the Olympics over the weekend, I saw a commercial for Old Navy and their active wear. Maybe if I called it active wear, I could talk M into it. When we got to the store, he still wasn’t having anything to do with “that material” (so picky!!) But Old Navy didn’t let me down. They had a line of cotton pants with elastic waist – woo hoo!!

M tried them on and decided that they would work – so we bought a pair in every color they had. It’s been great!! He puts them on in the morning and there’s no struggling with the belt, zipper and snap every time he has to go to the bathroom. It’s just slip on and slip off. I’ve put away all his jeans and belts so we don’t have to worry about them anymore.

I may even go back to Old Navy and buy more of those pants.

I had even more good news this week – for the past 10 years, I’ve worked as a grant writer and foundation manager at an independent hospital and really loved it. But, if you know anything about healthcare, you know that the days of independent hospitals is LONG over. Our hospital had to file for bankruptcy last March, two weeks before the quarantine. Timing, right? We finally found a buyer to keep us open, but the hospital will no longer be a non-profit, which means no more grant writing.

I still had a job, which was good, but I wasn’t doing the kind of work I really enjoyed any more.

Finally, a ray of sunshine has come my way! I was hired as a grant writer for a non-profit that is right around the corner from M’s memory care day care center. I was able to negotiate a nice raise in salary and three weeks vacation for myself and I’ll start my new position on August 16^th. Whew – I can’t wait! It will be tough to leave all my friends at the hospital – especially after all we’ve been through together – but it’s time and I’m ready for this change.