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Remarkably Quiet

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The past couple weeks have been remarkably quiet.

I am either becoming used to the odd late night behaviors and reacting to them in a calm sane fashion or they are simply unremarkable to me and seem commonplace.

At the very least I should be thankful to the Almighty that we are in a place that does not drive me to my blog to write about and discern my own feelings and emotions.

At various points in our lives I imagine many of us feel this way. As summer approaches it is time to slow down and enjoy the world’s awakening.

One grand daughter is graduated from university and is on a long awaited tour of England, France and Italy. Cheryl’s sister is off to Italy with her gentleman friend Gene. Another grand daughter graduates from high school in a few days. Our daughter’s family is enjoying their new boat on this bright sunny May Sunday afternoon. Cheryl’s brother is on his boat. He posted a picture this morning on Facebook.

Cheryl seemed to have slept well. I made her current favorite breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon with grape jelly toast. She seems to be getting up later as time goes on.

Today we will take a walk somewhere in the sunshine.

Carpe Diem.

Birthdays

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Birthdays are a big deal to some. Not so much to others. Cheryl got several cards from friends through the mail.

This vase of flowers magically appeared on Cheryl’s birthday with Natalie when she came to clean. Her sister Nancy had sent flowers for her birthday and Natalie selected them.

In the evening we went to a little cafe nearby to celebrate Cheryl’s birthday with our daughter, granddaughter and her brother. As I was putting Cheryl’s walker out of the aisle in the crowded little restaurant, a woman seated by herself remarked that I was a good husband. She had watched me guide Cheryl into the booth near the window. I told her that I try to take care of Cheryl as best as I can. She told me her husband had passed away a few years previous and she missed him greatly.

When I paid our tab for dinner I paid for her dinner also.

Carpe Diem.

Happy Birthday, Cheryl

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Today is Cheryl’s birthday. She is not sure how old she is and that is a good thing in many aspects. When I remind her, her answer is, “Really?”

Tonight we will go to dinner to celebrate. It was a spontaneous decision on my part. Some of her family will come too. With parkie’s many decisions are spontaneous. One has to determine how the day is going.

Her sister Nancy sent her some spontaneous flowers. Our niece, Natalie, brought them with her when she came to clean our condo today.

Spontaneity is the spice of life and living in the moment is something we all need to do more often.

Carpe Diem!

And Happy Birthday!

Tan Shoes with Pink Shoelaces

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Cheryl was moving slowly this morning but she said yes when I asked if she wanted to go to exercise class. I asked her if she wanted her blue shoes. She said, no, I want the pink shoes.

An old do-wop song jumped into my head.

It is amazing the crap flying around in your brain. I wonder how that works.

In Cheryl’s case it does not work as well as it once did. Her memories are jumbled up. She remembers that our granddaughter Laurencia is about to be graduated from The Ohio State University but mixes that memory with her mother’s teaching career. I used to correct the story but I no longer do.

Our granddaughter Regan is finishing high school and will move on to attend Ohio University at the end of this month. That idea is jumbled up with our grandson Max who graduated last year and is going to Miami University. When Cheryl tells the story we have three graduates. One of whom has been teaching for a couple years.

She wore her pink shoes with gray shoelaces, a flowered shirt and man oh man…

Carpe Diem

Serendipity

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One of our regular social gatherings is Pizza Tuesday. (Yes, I know it is supposed to be taco Tuesday.) Most times it is just a few of us, maybe 3 or 4. Occasionally Cheryl’s brothers and sister show up. Last evening in a moment of serendipity her cousin and many of his family showed up to celebrate their father’s birthday. Cheryl got a hug from her cousin that she really has not talked to for years.

Bob’s second wife died about a year ago and I took her to the funeral mass. We did not stay for the gathering after because Cheryl was not doing well that day.

Cheryl did not talk much to Bob. For one thing he was there to celebrate with his family in the big front room. For another although he may know of Cheryl’s on going battle with parkinson and dementia, he may not know how long it takes for her to get a thought out. Sometimes her thought is gone before she can vocalize it. I have been watching this for years. At home I merely wait.

Others have a hard time waiting so they want to guess what she is trying to say. Forming thoughts and then assembling complete sentences, keeping track of any names that need insertion is a hard task for Cheryl these days. I only help when I am very sure of who or what she is talking about and even then I can be wrong. Parkies can change topics in a heartbeat.

Last evening, however, was special and when we got home she wanted to do two things. Get Bob’s telephone number so she could call him and talk. And sit outside for awhile and watch the clouds go by to expose the moon and the planets. Venus is very bright and the moon is several days past its crescent phase. Watching the night sky lately seems peaceful for her.

I asked her siblings for Bob’s phone number. She now has his phone number for when she wants to call him.

As we left the restaurant her brother, as he often does, said to me thank you for taking care of my sister. My inner thought to him is I love her dearly and we made a vow to each other fifty years ago. What I say to him is “you’re welcome” and that bothers me sometimes. Some day I will pour my heart out to him. He is a good and kind man.

Carpe pizza Tuesday Diem

Photo by Kasumi Loffler on Pexels.com

Cheryl only likes pepperoni on her pizza but last night was a bruschetta night.

After Reflection

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When I started these thoughts on Sunday, I wrote that Sunday for me is a time for reflection. It is not the only time.

Thinking about the future of things while making the bed up and doing other needed chores for today — Qué será, será – Whatever will be, will be – an old Doris Day tune popped into my head. It made me smile. Was Elaine floating around today? Doris was a contemporary of Elaine’s in high school. Cheryl seems to sense her mother today. She has mentioned her a couple times in the present tense. This evening she asked if we could go visit her mom tomorrow. We will. She seems to know her mom is deceased. I did not remind her of that fact. Perhaps we will go visit her grave tomorrow and then find some lunch.

I wonder if I have planned well enough for our future. Whatever that may be. (Man plans, God laughs.)

Perhaps another meeting with the children is in order. I should make an agenda so that I do not forget anything.

Perhaps more reflection is needed.

Carpe Diem

It was My Own Fault

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It was my fault. I thought it would be a good thing to take her shopping. The target was J C Penney. The goal was towels. In retrospect I could have selected a different path through the store. The Men’s clothing aisle also leads to the home part of the store. (An AHA moment.)

She found a purse and looked at wallets but none were satisfactory. Or maybe I was an ache in the posterior. She told me she never gets to go shopping very much anymore. She is right. I probably also help guide her maybe more than I should.

From a male perspective this was worse than looking at a menu in an unfamiliar restaurant. It was overwhelming choices of color and style.

We did find towels and a bathmat. In the home area she told me that she likes bold colors. She selected a sort of hunter green, harvest gold and creamy white. She ignored the fuscia, orange, purple and tomato red. Our bathrooms are light green.

Carpe Diem.