Tuesday, March 23, 2004
It's been an appointment day...
...which means that everything has been geared to getting her ready and going to her acupuncture appointment, including doing her hair from scratch. She's pretty much spent the majority of time (a slight majority) in bed over the last three days. Her appointment was at 1500. I expected she was going to move very slowly. She did, so I started on her at 1000, hoping to get everything in and also get my own shower in before we go. I wasn't keen, this morning, on continuing concentrated caretaking but it didn't seem to matter that I wasn't. So much of it is habit and routine, now. The aspect of my caretaking adventure for which I am most grateful and makes the difference is that my mother and I get along well and genuinely like and respect one another. A big difference.
Tonight I am fixing one of her favorites, split pea with ham soup. I'm boiling down two hambones for the stock. I'm also going to make some more muffins, tonight: Date, nut, orange muffins with some orange flavored craisins thrown in just to get rid of them. She's liking the fact that The Muffin Man has turned out to be a woman and her daughter. A while back, in February, I think, I decided to bake something, I can't remember what but it may have been a tomato biscuit pie. She decided that she could help me. Yes, that was it, because she started helping me by cutting the celery. The strength wasn't a problem but the strategy was. I'm not a fast vegetable cutter but I was done with everything else by the time she finally had enough celery cut. Further, rather than cut the celery, she sawed it. So it was pretty chewed up.
I'm not sure that she'll be up the entire afternoon/evening. Since she awoke late I gave her a light lunch when we got home from her appointment, about 1630. I forgot to give her any medication. She clearly didn't need iron but I forgot her metformin, too, although I automatically put cinnamon in her V-8 juice. Let's see, she had about 3/4 cup of 4% milkfat cottage cheese, probably about 15 Hot & Spicy Cheezit Crackers and the V-8 juice. It'll be interesting to see what her blood sugar will be tonight before dinner.
I didn't consult with the acupuncturist after Mom's appointment today either, which I usually do. I haven't any overriding concerns regarding her health, lately. The truth is, I don't really want to consult if there is nothing the acupuncturist feels I need to know. I'll check next week when I go. I like to use a light touch when possible as I keep tabs on my mother. It preserves some of her dignity.
Looks like she'll be up for awhile. She's settled down with Animal Planet. Good. It'll be nice to visit with her again in the evening.
Sideshow Curiosity: I often wonder why it is that the older people get the more likely they are to be fascinated with animal shows and animal behavior. Could it be that, when one isn't, say, a biologist, which most of us aren't, age divests us of our illusions about being somehow different than and separated from animals?
Tonight I am fixing one of her favorites, split pea with ham soup. I'm boiling down two hambones for the stock. I'm also going to make some more muffins, tonight: Date, nut, orange muffins with some orange flavored craisins thrown in just to get rid of them. She's liking the fact that The Muffin Man has turned out to be a woman and her daughter. A while back, in February, I think, I decided to bake something, I can't remember what but it may have been a tomato biscuit pie. She decided that she could help me. Yes, that was it, because she started helping me by cutting the celery. The strength wasn't a problem but the strategy was. I'm not a fast vegetable cutter but I was done with everything else by the time she finally had enough celery cut. Further, rather than cut the celery, she sawed it. So it was pretty chewed up.
I'm not sure that she'll be up the entire afternoon/evening. Since she awoke late I gave her a light lunch when we got home from her appointment, about 1630. I forgot to give her any medication. She clearly didn't need iron but I forgot her metformin, too, although I automatically put cinnamon in her V-8 juice. Let's see, she had about 3/4 cup of 4% milkfat cottage cheese, probably about 15 Hot & Spicy Cheezit Crackers and the V-8 juice. It'll be interesting to see what her blood sugar will be tonight before dinner.
I didn't consult with the acupuncturist after Mom's appointment today either, which I usually do. I haven't any overriding concerns regarding her health, lately. The truth is, I don't really want to consult if there is nothing the acupuncturist feels I need to know. I'll check next week when I go. I like to use a light touch when possible as I keep tabs on my mother. It preserves some of her dignity.
Looks like she'll be up for awhile. She's settled down with Animal Planet. Good. It'll be nice to visit with her again in the evening.
Sideshow Curiosity: I often wonder why it is that the older people get the more likely they are to be fascinated with animal shows and animal behavior. Could it be that, when one isn't, say, a biologist, which most of us aren't, age divests us of our illusions about being somehow different than and separated from animals?
