We try, as best we can, to live by the wisdom that says:
The important thing is to keep the important thing the important thing.
At this point we have far more life going on than we can handle.
Mom had cataract surgery last week on a cataract that was so huge that the doctor couldn't guarantee anything as far as results are concerned. In the end, everything turned out nicely--a sweet answer to prayer.
Evie accompanied her and I spent the day sitting with dad who, in the most common way of assessing dementia, is well into stage 6, out of 7.
That sort of time with dad always exhausts me. The mini strokes have killed dad's attention span, so that it extends only for about a minute but the strokes have also left him a sweet, simple man. He and I spent about four hours together. He slept some of that time and then repeated the same few questions dozens of times. Where's your mother? Why is she away for so long? Who's with your mother? How did she get there? When will she be home? Why is this taking so long?
I had no difficulty being patient but there is something about seeing the man who raised you reduced to that level of existence.
All this is to explain that neither of us have the emotional wherewithal to do all that is involved in hosting a Gathering. So, we are taking a large number of the regular gang out to lunch. The folks from the home always enjoy the outing but they do miss seeing Lizzy.
After that, we will probably start a small fire in our fireplace and drift off to sleep.
There is a huge sale going on at the store. I'm not sure that I mentioned that a few months ago I was offered a management position at the store. In my new position, very busy times just about kill me.
A nice Sunday afternoon nap will probably hit the spot.
We're back from lunch. It was a mixed blessing. We always take the gang to the same place and our group is becoming known. It's a large party and, when we go there, we always make a reservation for the same time. We have physically and mentally handicapped people who are pretty memorable in themselves.
ReplyDeleteThe restaurant staff is always patient and kind to us. My guess is that they appreciate that, in taking the people from the home, we are doing an act of mercy. And, because we are so obviously there as disciples of and ambassadors for Christ, we always leave a very generous tip for the wait staff.
Anyway, the people from the home are an interesting lot. All of them are people who have been dependent all of their lives. One of them did have a job as a younger man. I can only imagine that it was doing menial labor.
As a result, they have no concern about how much expense they create for us. One of them always orders the same meal, which is one of the more expensive on the menu. The guy can't count and he probably doesn't even understand what it means that we pay for his meal. Another guy seemed determined to be expensive today and he does have the wherewithal to understand.
It has often occurred to me that mercy is not mercy unless the act has pain of some kind connected to it. This is a small deal.
Well, at least I didn't have to listen to a sermon today...