Monday, March 31st
Lunch came late and Mom and M came early so Mom ended up feeding me and then they ate lunch. My sister had been trying to take advantage of my health insurance’s over-the-counter quarterly allowance and today was the last day of the quarter. So Mom tried to call and order something for me. It would have been simpler to order online, but by some kind of fluke, we could not sign in.
I should have called myself months ago, but since I live with a boulder of procrastination hanging over me (I think I am badly mixing metaphors here), that never happened. Instead, we got to listen to hours of hold music with the occasional announcement that our wait time would be “greater than 30 minutes.” When it was almost 4 o'clock and the announcement changed to greater than 60 minutes, we hung up. So much for that $25 of savings.
All that was too much of a distraction to sit down and properly watch something, so we ended up all three playing Connections on the NYT Games app. M had never played before and he wasn't sure if he would be any good. Turns out, he was very good at seeing the connections between words. He even picked out the four main ingredients for an old-fashioned from a brand new puzzle. Not bad! It is a fun game.
Tuesday, April 1st
R has taken to texting me before she comes to make sure I am up for a massage. That's good, but I look forward to the time when it is more occasional. I am very good friends with my previous masseuse and I hold out hope she will someday return. I say that mainly because she also helped me with my writing. In any case, it won't be anytime soon. The new lady loves my writing, but she doesn't have the critical eye that I liked. Nothing bad, just different.
Wednesday, April 2nd
M gave me a shower after breakfast instead of before and it turned out to be the coldest shower I had ever had here! There was a little warm water in the beginning, but it quickly ran out. The water was not completely cold, but it was also barely warm. At the end, I remarked, ‘I'm awake now!’. Soon enough, I was dry and back in bed.
It's a real pain in the ass to get changed in the morning and evening and to shower twice a week, but I also know it is a very good thing to move your body and change positions. You wouldn't know it by how much I stay in bed, but I am aware. I don't have a lot of motivation to move around or get up. If you bring me lunch, that might do it…
Thursday, April 3rd
Dr. R and Freddie are on vacation. Well, Dr R and her husband are on vacation. Freddie is lounging at home with his brothers and sisters. Having fun doing nothing, including visiting me! (If you could see me, I am playing the world’s smallest violin to accompany my sad tale.)
I am also thinking about this month’s essay that I have yet to write. I know what I want to write about. It's just a matter of getting everything out the right way. That sounds like the essence of the problem every time anyone wants to write about anything. So I have joined a very large, solitary club. We'll see how it all comes out.
Friday, April 4th
My sister reminded me yesterday that we need to review my symptoms so we can evaluate how the supplements are making a difference. Yes, OK, but of course we needed to start doing that months ago before I started taking the supplements.
My family doesn't trust my evaluation of them because I am biased. And I don't trust their evaluation of what I need because they are not me. I am certain that if my family thought about when I was doing well and when I wasn't, they would directly correspond to when I was on or off the supplements. At this point, it is purely a matter of finance. Somehow, I have managed to position myself as someone who is irresponsible about my spending. It's very difficult to erase an image once it is in place, but I will try.
Saturday, April 5th
Mom and my sister went to a fundraiser today so no visits from them. I did get a visit from my stepbrother, M (not another one!). His wife wasn't able to join him, but he came and brought me an order of shrimp pad Thai. Yippee! I like that because I can stretch it to five (count ‘em, 5!) meals. It's one of the small joys I have, to look at the meal ticket and say, ’I'm going to eat the food I have in the fridge!’
This is the stepbrother who was sick with cancer when he was a teenager (?) before I knew him. He is also a very positive person and was one of my models when I chose to have a positive outlook on life. He obviously got his priorities straightened out early in life and he knows what is important. I always enjoy hanging out with him and I am so grateful for the meal!
My sister texted in the afternoon that she was doing yoga class near me and could stop by afterwards. A Saturday night visit! Very rare. She had gotten some earbuds at the Apple Store and wanted to try listening through those. We had one set of earbuds for both of us so we sat close together, and I used the left earbud while she used the right one. Not ideal, but better than without them. My sister went back and found the parts so that we can each be wearing a set of earbuds and hear the program.
Sunday, April 6th
Mom came by after church and started feeding me lunch. This was, of course, the second meal of shrimp pad Thai. Halfway through, my sister showed up and I had Mom on my left side and my sister on my right side. Wonderful! My mom left after breakfast was done and my sister and I were left to our own devices.
She RSVP’d to my 40th high school reunion that will happen at the end of July. 15 years ago I went to my 25th reunion in my manual chair and now I will go to this one in my power chair. Ah, well, so it goes. We also went to ThredUp to look for some new clothes. Well, new to me. They didn't have any maxi skirts, so we looked through the dresses. We bought two and I hope they work.
I am late getting this out, so I am going to stop here and get this to my guy to post. The photo is a shot of Freddie on my table against my back wall. What can I say? I miss him! Have a fabulous week.
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