It’s Thanksgiving. Talk of gratitude is as prevalent as the turkey on our plates. We are parsing what is worthy of our appreciation as we sit down for today’s feast. The original idea of this holiday was to show thanks to God for the bounty in our lives. Gratitude practice is at the least aContinue reading “Grateful, appreciative, and thankful”
Category Archives: Grateful
A good week. I’m still stressed. But it was good.
Here I am. I am affirming my positives despite the stress of last week. Let me count the ways: [I had a little extra stress from the unexpectedly threatening phone call that I got on Friday. You know that feeling when you shake everything off and then have a nightmare.] Today, the hospital bed arrivedContinue reading “A good week. I’m still stressed. But it was good.”
I did it again
Oversharing, longer answers than the question called for is the hallmark of my current convos. A neighbor asked how I was doing. She was sincere, but I tried to be brief. Midway to just saying, “we’re ok, thanks.” I proceeded to add, “we just got him a hospital bed, so that’s a whole new levelContinue reading “I did it again”
Sweet
In some ways, he’s more my child than my husband. He seems to acknowledge this on some level when he refers to me as his mother; of course, when he does, it’s part of his confusions, delusions, and hallucinations. When I came back from an unusually late outing in which I enjoyed the hospitality ofContinue reading “Sweet”
Too much
A side effect of Burt’s diagnosis has been my tendency to grossly overshare. How are you is a simple question but my answer is overloaded. Too often full of the kind of detail we bill as TMI. No simple answer. I try to keep it light or funny but I definitely talk too much. IContinue reading “Too much”
Party king
A birthday surprise
“I am never going here with you again,” Burt whispers. Maybe he even said “anywhere with you,” but you get the gist. It was a wonderful party. Our friends brought him thoughtful gifts. At my suggestion, we sang him the birthday song. (Do we still owe someone royalties on that?) The first arrivals talked amongContinue reading “A birthday surprise”
A question of time
Recently, a kindred caregiving spouse wondered how many hours of care she should consider for her husband. She had been going it alone, and with all her heart and love. Anyone who’s been there knows how intensely draining and lonely this can be. There comes a time on this journey when caregivers need relief. ForContinue reading “A question of time”
I am so relieved
Now I really am relieved. The fever Burt was running appears to have hit normal. The thermometer stopped its red scream and went to a peaceful green this morning. His head was cool to the touch. We haven’t heard what the picture that XRay Tommy took in our home looks like yet. But Tylenol seemsContinue reading “I am so relieved”
A day off
Burt was asleep all morning and now all day. His aide and I shared the space, texting and reading on our phones. After an hour and ½ trying to stir him, I decided to make Sunday a respite afternoon. I went to cast my ballot. Called some of my peeps, enjoyed the crispness of theContinue reading “A day off”
this is our life 