Can’t quite wrap my head around the fact that it’s been three years now since my dad died.
We’ve all had to adjust to his not being here, in more ways than one. We are still adjusting. It’s a day-by-day thing.
Keeping It Quiet
Mum didn’t “let on” to me and my husband that my dad needed so much help getting up from bed and then getting back to bed. I think Dad didn’t want his kids to see just how fast he was failing.
He was a proud man. Fair and tough. And honest. He knew Mum couldn’t help him make the walk to and from the dining table anymore. Or to the couch. Getting from the couch to the bed was another battle, and he knew Mum needed help. It was only then that she phoned over to our house. My husband and went over to assist – good thing we live next door.
Good News Day – No Heart Murmurs!
Mum went to see a cardiologist. Happily, she was given the good news that no heart murmur was present. The visit was intended to find out the reason for her racing heart which was starting to happen early in the evenings.
You know what your mind is like, once it thinks that something bad is going to happen (again), it is vigilant in its attempts to keep you focused on it. That’s all you think about. Thinking about it then brings on the associated pains. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Stress Spreads
Even though it was my mum who was visiting the cardiologist, I wonder how long it’s going to be before I need to go. Why? Well, Mum’s stress is my stress. I’m taking care of her now too.
She’s 85 but certainly doesn’t look it or act it. Her ’85’ is more like ’65’. I often feel I act older than my mum. I too get stressed out and then that freezes up my brain. That’s why I started this blog so I could just prattle on. It’s better than sitting around wringing your hands!
Spanish Bayonets
Mum’s also been worrying about some Spanish bayonet plants that Dad planted beneath their bedroom windows (to keep nosy neighbors away). I shouldn’t say that because the neighbors are yours truly to her south, and her grandson to her east!
Thankfully, one of Dad’s friends came by and dug the darned thing up. It was huge. Probably two feet by two feet by three feet tall. So now that job is done.
But you know what? It won’t be long before Mum has something else to be fretting over. It’s in her genes and I’ve got those same genes too.
Let’s hope the heart murmurs don’t start up again.
