Kansas City October 2026

I didn’t take any pictures on this trip. But here’s a picture of Joanne’s new robot cat, Fluffy!

Friday 10/16

We are here visiting Joanne, my mother in law. Lee’s sister Mary, who lives in KC, is on vacation so Lee and his other sister Cathy are taking turns visiting Joanne while Mary is gone.

We stayed at Mark and Mary’s house, and fed their cat while we were there. Rosie is a noisy and bossy little thing! I don’t think I’m used to cats anymore. I used to definitely be a cat person and I think I’ve turned into a dog person. Sophie can be pushy, especially when she wants a treat, or is ready to go on a walk, but not like Rosie!

Joanne will be 96 in December. She really is amazing. She still lives independently, and does great for the most part, but she is beginning to show her age. She has slowed down a lot. She has fallen several times, often with no consequence but sometimes with resulting injuries. She is very stubborn and refuses to use a cane or a walker with any consistency. In a way it’s good because each time something happens she fights to get her mobility back. But then she falls again.

She doesn’t eat as much as she should but this is not uncommon in the elderly. But Lee brought along all kinds of yummy things to entice her to eat. She had a small bowl of beef stew and some French bread for dinner, and then two scoops of ice cream too!

We had a nice visit this afternoon. It’s a long drive from Minneapolis to KC, about 6 hours without stops. Lee did most of the driving but I drove for a couple hours before lunch. Yesterday it rained, for the first time in weeks, and then the weather turned sharply colder, and windy. There are frost warnings in Minnesota tonight. Frankly it’s about time. It’s not much warmer in KC.

Saturday 10/17

I woke up early this morning, even before 4 which is crazy. I fell back asleep for a little while but by 4:30 I was wide awake. I laid there for about 20 minutes and then I was up.

I puttered around for a couple hours, eating breakfast, drinking coffee, and reading the paper on my phone. Then I did my PT exercises and went for a walk. There aren’t very great places to walk here but I walked a mile on Wornall Rd and then back and that was ok.

Then we went over to Joanne’s and basically hung out with her for most of the day. We went down to lunch with her. The food is ok, not wonderful, not terrible, but they did have wine and coffee. I had coffee, not wine!

We went to Aldi’s to get the granola that Joanne likes and then to Trader Joe’s for a few other odds and ends including yogurt to have with my breakfast tomorrow. Then we went back to Joanne’s and watched Mizzou get creamed by Ole Miss. 

Joanne has a robot cat that she has named Fluffy. Don’t laugh, it’s very realistic! She has always had cats, but when her last one died she admitted that she just wasn’t up to taking care of a cat anymore. Her kids got her Fluffy and she really likes it. She can pet it, and it purrs or meows. She doesn’t have to feed it or clean the litter box, and she can turn it off! haha.

We went over to Gail and Phil’s for dinner. They have moved to KC to be closer to their daughters and grandkids, a common theme these days for people our age it seems.  It’s been a major change for them. They lived in their house in Columbia for over 45 years. They had so many things to go through to sell their house. And it was hard to leave all their friends and connections too. We know how it is, but we’ve done it so many times and learned how to let go and then make a new life in a new place. It’s not easy though.

We ate carry out Mediterranean and talked talked talked, catching up on things since the last time we were together. Old friends are the best!

Monday October 19

Yesterday we mostly hung out at Joanne’s. When we got to her apartment she was attending Mass online so I went for my walk then. I walked all around her complex, through the adjoining townhomes and a nearby neighborhood, again about 2 miles. 

Because it’s so hard for her to get around right now we ordered lunch and Lee went to pick it up. We got the fried chicken to share. Joanne said it was good, and it was! Lee had brought her some of the gumbo he made so we had that with the chicken. A nice lunch, except that he bought some quick-cooking rice to go with the gumbo and we both thought it was terrible. Kelsey has educated us about rice and there’s no going back!

Then Elsa and Charlotte came over, and Sam as well. Charlotte is 4 and a real sweetie. She made me help her with her “heart” book. She made the hearts and she had me do the words because “she doesn’t know how to do words yet”. She told me what to write though! 

She also cuddled with Lee and hung out with Joanne as well. Like I said, a sweetie.

For dinner we ordered carry out from a nearby Italian restaurant, North Italia. It was a great choice. We got a lasagna entree, roasted artichokes, and an arugula salad with fennel and avocado. It was all very good! And it was plenty of food for 2 people that don’t eat very much, and me!

So now we are getting ready to go say goodbye to Joanne, and head back to Minnesota. It’s been a good visit, and an eye opener for me. It’s so hard to imagine my dynamic mother in law finally showing her age, but she is. It’s hard on everyone, but especially Joanne. She’s always been so independent and it’s very hard for her to admit she needs help, but she does. We’ll see what happens next.