Last evening I had a long conversation with an old family friend who helps mom out a lot when she needs groceries, rides to the doctor and the like. Of course he is unable to do anything for her at the moment with the pandemic and all the fallout.
However, he called me last night to say that Mom has, for the first time in her life, been phoning him once a week to see how he is faring. He is delighted. He figures it has been at least 20 years since my mom called him, rather than dad being the one to make the connections. He also told me she is calling other long time mutual friends once a week to check on them as well. Mom? Picking up the phone and reaching out to friends of her own volition???? She even called a nephew in Quebec recently to check on his emotional well being after his long time friend passed away. WOW! Way to go MOM!!! 😀
Then I talked to Mom herself. She has made all her new arrangments on her own for getting her eye injections next month, has set things up with the specialist who is revamping the schedule so that emergency treatments like Mom gets can still be done, but with only one patient in the office at a time so there is the opportunity to thoroughly disinfect the room between patients. She has decided how many days more she is going to wait before calling her doctor about her recent morning of tests, if she doesn't hear from him by today. She is out of her suite walking the hallways each day to try to build up her stamina for walking again. Apparently she has been watching the other women in the facility and comparing the energy and mobility between the women who walk regularly for exercise and those who don't walk much at all. She is determined to keep herself in the first batch of mobile, active women as long as she can. I have been very concerned about her lack of energy for walking for the past year or more and now she shares the concern and is trying to do something about it. I am SO PROUD of her. She has had to take on so much in Dad's absence and after some rough, emotional, frightened weeks, she is learning to cope! WOW again!
The weather has taken a turn for the worst today. It is the beginning of spring, the month of March turning to April on the prairies. If this is as bad as it is going to get before the warm weather comes to stay, we are fortunate indeed! It has been drizzling rain outside and by this afternoon the temperature will be dropping below zero as the rain continues to fall. Overnight the water will turn to slick ice that will cover every street, sidewalk, porch, step, vehicle and the rooves of all the buildings. Then tomorrow the ice will end up covered with some snow. I can't think of a more perfect time to be housebound actually! 👏 Parts of Alberta have a windchill of -21C this morning....brrrrrrr....I don't think we will get that cold here by the look of the forecast, but who knows? There was a touch of freezing rain on parts of Vancouver Island yesterday, so anything is possible.
I am glad that my friend who stops by every morning was sensible enough to stay home today....although if a person has the proper attire, it would be a great day to walk around the lake! Today, the pathway I can see from my place has been completely deserted all morning! Perhaps my friend has been able to get out there this morning. I do hope so as she finds it difficult being so isolated since she is so social.
Each morning I wake up to more emails from friends keeping in touch and I think of more people to get in touch with myself to check on their welfare. Without the present day technology that allows for online socializing I don't know what I would do to keep myself connected to reality. There are so many worries about my son and about the world in general that being able to keep in touch online is keeping me grounded. My husband and I were talking about the "old days", when letters were mailed out and received days, weeks or even months after the events the writer was describing had taken place. We all managed just fine and thought ourselves blessed to be getting news from others in that way. It was all we had other than telegrams for conveying news of emergencies or unexpected joys.
My husband is still working away on the income tax, nickeling and diming what we owe down to its lowest amount, whittling away little by litte by using new tax laws and possibilities that apply to us. Bless him for all his efforts to save us a few dollars. Being stuck at home has actually been a good thing for him to be able to collect his thoughts, organize his writing projects, help his friends in the various mens' group learn how to connect online, watch some tv without worrying about "wasting time" and sleep in each morning if he wants to. Good things for him.
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