Thursday, December 16, 2004
Today was Christmas Tree Day
We both decided not to bother with the seven footer. Although we've got the ceiling for it we don't have the space for it this year, with all the stuff piled around the house (and in the storage shed). I think we both like the thirty two inch fiber optic tree well enough anyway. It doesn't require loads of cords since it has built in lights and the quality of light is magical. It doesn't take long to decorate, either. Mom can sit in her rocking chair with the tree on its platform in front of her and help decorate it. My mother likes it so much that last year we kept it up until April, I believe. Who knows how long it will stay up this year.
Since I've been living with my mother my attitude toward the holidays often goes through a quick, dramatic metamorphosis in the weeks immediately before Christmas. I don't think it will this year. Amazingly, although I haven't been grousing about the holidays here at home (it hasn't been necessary, the holidays haven't been noticeable in the house this year) Mom mentioned tonight that she "expects [I'll] get the spirit, soon", like I usually do. I didn't respond, just continued decorating the tree with her. If it happens, fine. I, too, expect the transformation every year, look forward to it, but I don't think it's going to happen this year.
Mom's been pretty lively, today. I decided to get her started "informally" on her exercises; so informally that I didn't print a list and record the effort. We only did a few, all of them sitting ones, the minimum number of reps (5 or 10, depending on the exercise), one set each. I didn't morph into "Sgt. Ms. Trainer". That'll come later. I just wanted to see where we were, how much ground we have to make up. I was pleased at how much she accomplished with surprisingly little effort. I was also taken aback (although I shouldn't have been), at how reluctant she was to do anything. Instead of handling the weights she let them handle her, for instance, and constantly complained about how heavy they were (she's using one pounders). So I think we'll probably do them "informally" for a couple of days until exercises reestablishes itself as a routine. Her muscles remember how to do the exercises I think but her mind is going, "God damnit, I wish that daughter of mine would just let me sit quietly through the rest of my life!" The abbreviated, resisted session made no difference in her blood pressure. I discuss this in my dinner stats post for today in the Tests & Meds section. She was somewhat brighter eyed and bushier tailed than I've seen her lately.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington arrived today. I was positive, since I ordered it at her request, that she would be thrilled but she's become possessed with the Deep Space 9 episodes, thus decided she wanted to watch the movie "later". She watched 3 episodes today or maybe 4, I'm not sure. I tried to keep up because she insisted on discussing every episode but I had stuff to do, too, and had to rewind a lot to keep up with her. At one point I apologized to her for doing this and she said, "I don't mind at all, rewind as much as you want. Gives me a chance to see it again." I think I've created a Deep Space 9 monster! I insisted that we not watch while trimming the tree or doing exercises but only barely gained either ground. I briefly considered banning them during dinner but gave up before trying. On the one hand I am thrilled that something has captured her interest. On the other I wonder how I'm ever going to get her interested in anything else!
She went to bed early for her tonight, almost immediately after dinner, a little after 2200. I was surprised but considered that today had been an unusually stimulating day for her and she uses sleep, as do I, to process stimulation.
Did I mention here that I'm beginning to suspect that the older we get, the less likely our peer group is to have any realistic "norm" and the more likely each of us, as individuals, is to diverge from a hypothetical peer norm? I wonder if this is only true of Ancients when Ancienthood is reached by very few people within a particular generation. I wonder if my generation, the frog in the belly of the snake generation, the baby boomers, will foster so many Ancients that for us an Ancienthood peer norm will be more reliable. Did you know that at the time of the birth of our nation, the late 1700's, the population (the European immigrant population) was exactly as it is now, primarily over 45 and aging, and a fairly high percentage of that population not only expected to reach Ancienthood but did? Amazing. Maybe it has nothing to do with medical science, maybe it's a generation's Zeitgeist that determines its ability to forge into The Valley of the Ancients. It would be interesting to look into the social literature of the late 1700s and see whether an Ancienthood peer norm was established that was reliable.
Good Day. Sunshine. And Deep Space 9.
Later.
Since I've been living with my mother my attitude toward the holidays often goes through a quick, dramatic metamorphosis in the weeks immediately before Christmas. I don't think it will this year. Amazingly, although I haven't been grousing about the holidays here at home (it hasn't been necessary, the holidays haven't been noticeable in the house this year) Mom mentioned tonight that she "expects [I'll] get the spirit, soon", like I usually do. I didn't respond, just continued decorating the tree with her. If it happens, fine. I, too, expect the transformation every year, look forward to it, but I don't think it's going to happen this year.
Mom's been pretty lively, today. I decided to get her started "informally" on her exercises; so informally that I didn't print a list and record the effort. We only did a few, all of them sitting ones, the minimum number of reps (5 or 10, depending on the exercise), one set each. I didn't morph into "Sgt. Ms. Trainer". That'll come later. I just wanted to see where we were, how much ground we have to make up. I was pleased at how much she accomplished with surprisingly little effort. I was also taken aback (although I shouldn't have been), at how reluctant she was to do anything. Instead of handling the weights she let them handle her, for instance, and constantly complained about how heavy they were (she's using one pounders). So I think we'll probably do them "informally" for a couple of days until exercises reestablishes itself as a routine. Her muscles remember how to do the exercises I think but her mind is going, "God damnit, I wish that daughter of mine would just let me sit quietly through the rest of my life!" The abbreviated, resisted session made no difference in her blood pressure. I discuss this in my dinner stats post for today in the Tests & Meds section. She was somewhat brighter eyed and bushier tailed than I've seen her lately.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington arrived today. I was positive, since I ordered it at her request, that she would be thrilled but she's become possessed with the Deep Space 9 episodes, thus decided she wanted to watch the movie "later". She watched 3 episodes today or maybe 4, I'm not sure. I tried to keep up because she insisted on discussing every episode but I had stuff to do, too, and had to rewind a lot to keep up with her. At one point I apologized to her for doing this and she said, "I don't mind at all, rewind as much as you want. Gives me a chance to see it again." I think I've created a Deep Space 9 monster! I insisted that we not watch while trimming the tree or doing exercises but only barely gained either ground. I briefly considered banning them during dinner but gave up before trying. On the one hand I am thrilled that something has captured her interest. On the other I wonder how I'm ever going to get her interested in anything else!
She went to bed early for her tonight, almost immediately after dinner, a little after 2200. I was surprised but considered that today had been an unusually stimulating day for her and she uses sleep, as do I, to process stimulation.
Did I mention here that I'm beginning to suspect that the older we get, the less likely our peer group is to have any realistic "norm" and the more likely each of us, as individuals, is to diverge from a hypothetical peer norm? I wonder if this is only true of Ancients when Ancienthood is reached by very few people within a particular generation. I wonder if my generation, the frog in the belly of the snake generation, the baby boomers, will foster so many Ancients that for us an Ancienthood peer norm will be more reliable. Did you know that at the time of the birth of our nation, the late 1700's, the population (the European immigrant population) was exactly as it is now, primarily over 45 and aging, and a fairly high percentage of that population not only expected to reach Ancienthood but did? Amazing. Maybe it has nothing to do with medical science, maybe it's a generation's Zeitgeist that determines its ability to forge into The Valley of the Ancients. It would be interesting to look into the social literature of the late 1700s and see whether an Ancienthood peer norm was established that was reliable.
Good Day. Sunshine. And Deep Space 9.
Later.
