Back to the old house after dropping Heather off at the airport early in the morning, I packed and packed and then a prospective tenant that Barry had introduced to the property arrived to view the house. We hadn't intended to go that route, but it is for a short time, possibly 6 months and then we will sell it. It is a bit like ripping off a bandaid for our parents. We don't know whether to do it quickly or slowly let things go and they get used to the idea of not living in the house, which to them became a living thing. I don't know which is the best way to go.
The tenant was to be in on the 28th....that is 12 days from now!!!! So I packed like a madwoman. I worked until it was quite late and dark out and crawled back to Barry and Brenda's house, threw my aching bones into bed and passed out with the cat.
I ask my daughters to forgive me for when I am an old lady if my memory becomes faulty and my opinions are entrenched and my humour is impaired. I just ask that they treat my kindly and not shout too loud and take a deep breath and not to say what they are thinking.
But do not let me save stuff.
Today I took Mum over to the house so she could say goodbye. She found an envelope with some old pages torn from a calendar in a pile of books that I was in the middle of sorting.
She said "The pictures are pretty, they are of animals in the mountains."
I let her think she had saved them and then I threw them in the garbage when she wasn't looking. Tomorrow she won't remember.
Dad had his eye surgery and the operation was a success. The surgeon put a soft lens in gratius. Usually the provincial government charges $300. and the great unwashed are given a hard lens. That pleased Dad, he was able to put one over on the "man".
He is spying birds in the sky, noticing leaves on the trees and signs two blocks away. He can tell the time. He can eat without spilling food all over himself. He can watch TV and he can play his stereo
Today he found his hearing aid (it had been lost for a week) and he located his keys. He felt like a new man.
All he has to do now is get his other eye done and his life will be binocular.
He will probably lose something else in the mean time and then it will all start all over again. He lost his walker last week. Barry told me, he said "Did you know it is possible to lose your walker?"
We laughed.
We found lots of photos of him during the war, his uniform, medals, his RAF cap. There is only so much we can store and archive in conservation.
We found the book written of his war experiences, telling the story of his peril at sea when he was shot down. If any family member wants photos please get in touch with me and we will arrange for you to get them.
Dad is getting frail. Everytime he goes to dialysis he is weaker when it is over. I am hoping that for a little while at least, he will be able to see and hear clearly and just for a little while he can enjoy what life he has left.
It seems that the Forteo is working for Mum, she won't admit it. It is hard for her to be positive about much, but I have definitely noticed that she is not complaining about being sore and aching and her back is not fracturing with the slightest bump. I sure hope this hormone is growing bone material for her and reversing at least for a little bit, the horrible osteoporosis disease that has had her in its grip for so long.
During the time our parents were growing up, it was a very popular activity to 'scrap book'. Not the kind of scrap booking that people do today. Our parents pasted everything in big books of newsprint. When the books are taken out and the pages are turned after sitting in a closet or an attic for 50 years, they crumble and the observer gets an asthma attack. ( I did)
Our mother has a fascinating book of her early career as an operating theatre nurse. She saved everything and the collection is an interesting glimspe into pre/during wartime nursing.
Well, I am going to go look for that pesky little cat right now. She is just a sweetheart but has a penchant for going out 'catting' at night. The little brat doesn't come in until morning sometimes and all night I worry about her because there are coyotes in the area.
We are off on Monday morning for a long deserved break. We will visit little Kat for her birthday at Chez Cassidy Mohr and then off to the island where Bryan has booked us into a B&B for a surprise and then visiting old friends (the Andersons) for lunch and then up island to stay with our pals Louise and Mike where I will be going kayaking and Bryan will no doubt be drinking wine and brandy. Yahoo!!
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