It’s been interesting at our house lately. A time of new observations as Floyd and I navigate this experience of him being my nurse and me being his patient. The glass half full has been spilled, neglected, and drained several times the last ten days with neither of us used to playing these different roles. But we’re discovering new truths about each other and life in general. Here are some of our observations:
#1 According to Floyd (the family Christmas Carol expert), I sound just like Jacob Marley dragging his chains when I’m clumping down the hallway with the walker.
#2 Life no longer moves at the speed of light as it used to when all the kids were home and we were working full-time jobs. Now, it’s the speed of erosion. The fast lane has become a parking spot. And not the fun ones we used to find when we were younger. Everything takes longer to accomplish. It’s not a matter of packing several chores into one day. It’s more like spreading a chore over several days.
#3 Laundry is doable but it’s a challenge since our washer and dryer are in the basement. I can’t do stairs yet at all. Floyd can do stairs with the rail and his cane for balance, which means he can’t carry a basket. So I throw the laundry down the stairs to the landing. Floyd whacks it down the rest of the way with his cane. When the laundry is done, he brings everything back up on his shoulder in a Sam’s cold bag. Our only problem is agreeing on the acceptable level of dryness clothes must attain to be considered done.
#4 Between pain medicine, post-surgery exhaustion, and physical therapy, I can only stay awake so long. So, for now…
that’s all she wrote.
To be continued…
d