It's a pretty safe bet you'll never see me booked at your local convention center giving a lecture on how to achieve all your life's ambitions and goals. Just motivating myself is hard enough task as it is. Unfortunately, I'm now facing the dilemma of lighting a fire under my 8 -year old mother, who is struggling to regain the same level of independence prior to a nasty spill she took in late January. Broken hips aren't fun for anyone. But when you're pushing 90 -- and not walking with a great amount of confidence as it is -- it's not a good situation.

Use 'em or lose 'em, the old saying goes. It has now been well over a month since mom returned home, and she's only journeyed out three times. Two times were appointments with her doctors; the other was an impromptu excursion to the ER, late one evening, after a blood test showed positive for blood clots. Fortunately, the sonogram contradicted the blood test -- no clots found. Good news, of course, but still it wasn't fun spending nearly three hours in the ER for nothing, then having to get her back up the front stairs at 1:00 a.m. The least they could have done was put her up for the night and given her a free breakfast. Just kidding -- sort of.

I'm at my wits end. Everything looked on course -- the staff was very pleased -- while she was recuperating in the skilled nursing care unit. At first, she was bound and determined to make a full recovery; now she's frustrated and tired. Well, I'm doing the best I can, honestly. Still, my motivational skills leave a lot to be desired.

"Would you like to try to take a ride today?"

"Errrrrr...I don't think so."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, not today."

"It would do you good...moving around and all."

"Maybe tomorrow."

"Ok."

Tony Robbins I ain't.

My girlfriend suggest I get a bit more stern, perhaps to the point of getting downright threatening. That's just not my style, I guess.

Sorry for employing a bit of dark humor, but that's just my style. It's how I deal with difficult, emotional and depressing situations. We all get old; it's just not particularly fun watching those you love give-up and slip away.