Today, on my way to meet MM, I met my 84.5 year old neighbour. He's selling up and moving south, to be in a secure gated community some 3 miles from his only son. The neighbour, Peter, is an ex WW2 fighter pilot, widowed some 7 years ago, who keeps a very neat and tidy house, who paints amazing water colours and some less than perfect oils; who makes me smile, but who is throwing in the towel on independance. He also shared the awkward news that another neighbour has major kidney failure and requires regular dialysis - the poor wife is struggling, herself aging and trying to be 100% perfect in a carer's role.
MM, when I met her, was struggling and therefore, by association, so was I. She perhaps had forgotten her tablets, so her grasp on life was slippy, but she was pleased to see me; as I was her. Still, the letters she sent me when I was young, the words she sang to console me, the times she hugged me and hummed my name ... all those things are out there binding me to her and giving me the encouragement to support her. I took her home, hugged her, chatted to her cat, and drove home in tears.
Later I had a phone call from my late Dad's sister, who is now 83. Jacqueline is well and fairly chirpy but begging me to visit her before she dies. I don't know how I quite answered that plea ... but still, tonight, I've been checking the cost of flights from here in the UK to Washington where she lives. How can I refuse her?
Thank goodness for the numbing mindlessness of daft online games like Zuma .. my current highest score 111,076, and for a lovely glass of wine. Thank goodness for online friends who don't know me, so the guilt associated with remarks such as this is less ... I don't know you for real, so this isn't wholly disloyal. Thank goodness for earphones and music, and indeed for ITunes Genius which does actually provide some pretty amazing playlists based on one song.
Haven't had the stamina to ring friends, haven't had the enthusiasm to pick up the knitting ... but hey dear blog still have the hope that lets me post the words and cast them out to the world.
Whatever you are doing and whomever you are doing it with have fun and have a little bit extra for me ...
Sending hugs
2 comments:
((((((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))
& keep playing zuma
I am so sorry that my ((((((hugs)))))) are only virtual. If I could get to your house and back home again for picking the kids up from school then they would be real.
I haven't played Zuma since we changed pc's. I miss it a lot. A great sanity enforcer, and a game I could beat the kids at without even trying;0)
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