9 things
Nine things about my mother ...
Yes, I know that it should be 90, in celebration of her birthday last week, but you'd get bored with reading the list, long before I got bored with making it.
1. My mom moved into the granny flat at our house earlier this year. it was a big move for her, away from all the friends she had made in the retirement resort (it was never an 'old age home'). It has been an interesting journey. We have spent more time together than we have since I was in school and it has been an adjustment that has been easier than I expected.
2. I am much more tired than my mother. Or is it laziness? Every morning I take her a cappuccino made by Greg and without fail she is up and dressed, make up on and ready to tackle the world. I am up and dressed too, but most days all I want to do is go back to bed.
3. I have never, ever seen my mom lying down for a nap during the day. Not once.
4. I am awed by the patience my mother has with the people who treat her like she is invisible because she is old. I am beyond frustrated by people who speak to me rather than her when there are forms to fill in or banking to do.
5. I'm interested by the fact that my mom seems to become stronger with age - or maybe it is more stubborn?
6. Our journey together is in a new stage, and it is fascinating to see how we navigate the changes in dependencies. Neither of us is dependent on the other, but there are times when we each need to lean a little and it is good that we can.
7. My mom likes routines and patterns. That's why we now eat take away on a Friday, and I know that if it is 6pm she would have turned the TV on for the first time for the day. The mornings are spent sewing incredibly intricate cross stitch and the afternoons are for reading. That is, if she is not out in her car visiting friends or shopping.
8. My mom is active and engaged and interested in so many things, and it makes me sad to think that there are so many people, younger than her, who are just waiting to die instead of relishing the gift of living.
9. I've always been the shortest person in my family, and today I noticed that my mom is shorter than me. That means she has shrunk by 5 inches (which means if I make it to 90 I'll only be 4 foot 5 - that's not even 1.5 meters high. Sigh)
Yes, I know that it should be 90, in celebration of her birthday last week, but you'd get bored with reading the list, long before I got bored with making it.
1. My mom moved into the granny flat at our house earlier this year. it was a big move for her, away from all the friends she had made in the retirement resort (it was never an 'old age home'). It has been an interesting journey. We have spent more time together than we have since I was in school and it has been an adjustment that has been easier than I expected.2. I am much more tired than my mother. Or is it laziness? Every morning I take her a cappuccino made by Greg and without fail she is up and dressed, make up on and ready to tackle the world. I am up and dressed too, but most days all I want to do is go back to bed.
3. I have never, ever seen my mom lying down for a nap during the day. Not once.
4. I am awed by the patience my mother has with the people who treat her like she is invisible because she is old. I am beyond frustrated by people who speak to me rather than her when there are forms to fill in or banking to do.
5. I'm interested by the fact that my mom seems to become stronger with age - or maybe it is more stubborn?
6. Our journey together is in a new stage, and it is fascinating to see how we navigate the changes in dependencies. Neither of us is dependent on the other, but there are times when we each need to lean a little and it is good that we can.
7. My mom likes routines and patterns. That's why we now eat take away on a Friday, and I know that if it is 6pm she would have turned the TV on for the first time for the day. The mornings are spent sewing incredibly intricate cross stitch and the afternoons are for reading. That is, if she is not out in her car visiting friends or shopping.
8. My mom is active and engaged and interested in so many things, and it makes me sad to think that there are so many people, younger than her, who are just waiting to die instead of relishing the gift of living.
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| Out for dinner with two of her grandsons |
9. I've always been the shortest person in my family, and today I noticed that my mom is shorter than me. That means she has shrunk by 5 inches (which means if I make it to 90 I'll only be 4 foot 5 - that's not even 1.5 meters high. Sigh)
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