Saturday, May 30, 2014
My day started early. Betty and I walked the pups at 0600. Had to be at market by 0700, leaving mom to Rob. Apparently it was a tough morning for him. He goes to bed very late and was also up by 0600. No naps for him. Mom kept calling me. As much as she explained that I was at market, it made little difference to her.
A while ago, I changed and fed her and opened windows in her room (much to her dismay: Ohh, it’s so cold! And of course, it isn’t cold. At the moment, it’s 77 degrees.
We are off to the symphony this evening and have hired a sitter for the evening. Have a sitter coming next week on Saturday for the wedding shower we will hold on my back porch. Should be fun. Have already vacuumed up as many spider webs as I could find, bought new chair cushions, steamed the tile floors, and oiled the wooden furniture. All that’s left to be done on my part is to clean the garden beds after all the storms, mulch, buy some balloons and a large ribbon for the gift grill, turn on the icemaker, and set up the badminton net. Come to think of it, I might need to buy more badminton rackets. Food will be provided by the bride’s mother and maid of honor. Am looking forward to the occasion. It’s almost like having a family of my own. I love living here. I love my neighbors and my friends.
Mom will be with her caregiver Ruth. Our only challenge will be having one bathroom. But I think we will survive.
Mom is watching TV right now and occasionally laughing at something. Yesterday, she laughed hard at a Liberty Mutual advertisement that wasn’t funny at all. I think she is often delighted just to be able to read through the script on the captions for the hearing impaired and laughs in response.
Heard some horror stories at market today. In particular, one woman is taking care of her failing husband, her autistic daughter, and her ungrateful and bad humored in-laws. She looked tired and worn. She says she will have to work for the rest of her life. I quite understand. Same club I belong to. But the big difference here is that mom is good natured and very grateful. I, too, am grateful that she isn’t demanding and mean. Mom can be testy, but on the whole, she has a sweet nature. I am grateful, too, even though there are times I wish she would stop calling me and bothering me in mid-edit. Disturbances during work are particularly annoying. But it’s part of having an elderly demented woman and a rambunctious dog in your home. Wouldn’t do without them. I know things can get worse and she can become more dependent and more demanding. But for now, I am grateful that I can manage most of the time.
Ruth just arrived. She will stay with mom while Rob and attend the last concert of the season. Of course, mom has no idea who Ruth is and that she is staying with her. Mom asks where Ruth lives and responds as usual, Oh yeah! Business as usual.
thecaregiversdiary 