Humanyms

Mom’s Newest

So — precariously posing this question to the universe but — what next?

I applaud my mom for taking initiative for moving the dog house. She wanted it done and then, and had nothing to do, and wanted to be self-reliant so took it upon herself. Kudos. She reasoned out a plan that should have worked. Get a toboggan, work it under the corner of the dog house and pull the house out of the way. Seems viable. Except that the rope snapped. And she fell.

She phoned her sister said, I hurt myself and think I need you to take me to the hospital. (click of receiver.)

The doctor set and reset the bone 3 times, and a week later, it’s still not right.

Now, contextually, you have to understand that Mom can’t hear well, doesn’t indicate so, and fakes hearing as best she can, as is so common with people with hearing loss. As a result, she went away from hospital last time, believing the same as she went into it believing — that it was a simple break.

Nope, a compound fracture of 6 or so bones. She was supposed to elevate, move the fingers, and no, she didn’t.

Next we look at pins, and possibly plate and screws to stabilize the osteoporosis- and osteoarthritis- prone joint.

I’m not fond of kvetching but with 4 aunts and uncles on oxygen, one in final stage, one who more just died recently, a few with cancer scares or are post-op or post-chemo, mom’s been having a go of it.

And distress is communicable.

Between Brian needing stitches in May and still not wholly healed, dad having a stroke in April, and rehab and chronic care thru summer, and mom’s appointments year round, I’ve never spent so much time in a hospital in a year.

Everyone has a lot going on continually, good, bad and neutral.

The upshot for me is a particular necessity for inner work, for feeding on beauty, attending to small gifts, simple graces, letting myself float to level, making non-negotiable room for renewal time, and not pushing myself. And shrugging off unaffordable luxuries of threat responses. The body will do its own fretting. It doesn’t need the mind muttering away its own chorus of seeming meanings as well exacerbating it.

Necessity is the regeneration chamber of sleep and dream. And to watch my diet because if carb proportion goes up while stress goes up, my capacities of buffer room go down. So need to stock up on fruit.

Pacing self, walking, mediation and self-regulating creating a calming space keep the keel in the water in high winds.

And I have a reading within a week as a feature at the AB Series at Mercury Lounge with John Barlow on the 11th. And a manuscript or two that I want to get squared away shortly. While keeping rest of life in balance.

Vent with a time max on it. Raid events for absurdities and, of course, poetry. As knitnut put it once, it’s not bad events, it’s writing fodder.

Glad Game: Oh the good side of the ledger are some real soul gems who have been allowing me flex time and making warm social space for me to decompress when I can.

Small beauties of the way sun casts shadows, the laugh lines of friends and strangers, to have a meal in the stomach, to joke with cousins, to have access to pain relievers, that hubby wasn’t laid off yet again.

I attend to small humorous things such as the man who in haste stopped his car and threw open the door and dinged it against the no-parking sign. Object lesson anyone?

Good health includes goofing around. For example, Bri explaining that pet store turtles are small, this small (lifting up the half brussels sprout) but they grow plate sized over 40 years. My mock horror gasp as the turtle, er, brussels gets popped into his mouth.

I watch for humour such as the squirrel who had a pizza crust bigger than himself. It was like watching a sporting game, he struggled so much to run with the ungainly thing. It ran a long way then stopped to rest and then saw a threat and ran off without it. Don’t want to be that squirrel.

I wait for amusement and plot mischief with my cousin — as we apparently have quite a similar mind for it — thinking up how to explain use of face masks worn on the ear, and wait for someone to notice so we can explain it’s an ear infection.

The staff at Queensway seem much more laid back than at the Civic. Better managers trickling their influence down?

Hubby and I schedule down time and think of what movies could be good. And maybe get ice cream to chill out.

Quote: “Hallo, Eeyore,” said Christopher Robin, as he  opened the door and came out. “How are you?”

“It’s snowing still,” said Eeyore gloomily.

“So it is.”

“And freezing.”

”Is it?”

”Yes,”  said Eeyore. “However,” he said, brightening up a little, “we haven’t had an earthquake lately.”
~A.A. Milne