Friday, 24 April 2020

The family rally around...

Day 32

Sophie was back in at work this morning and I waved her off at about 8.45am. She texted me about fifteen minutes later to say she had arrived so the traffic must have been non-existent!

Keith and I went over to Mum and Dad's house again this morning and we plugged in timers to make it look like the house was occupied. I did more tidying up and collected some towels to wash. I'm hoping tomorrow or Sunday we can get the house spick and span in case Mum and Dad return soon,  but if they do I'm not sure what will be for the best. While I was there, the phone rang and it was my Aunt Joyce who had been trying to get hold of Mum and Dad for a while. She was shocked to find out what had happened and we had a long chat, with her saying she would call around the rest of the family to let them know.

From Mum and Dad's house we drove to the care home to take Dad's mobile phone and some things he needed. We then trekked around the shops as we needed a new light bulb for the oven. Although I said the roads were quiet for Sophie's commute this morning, there was noticeably more traffic about today. We went to Riverside where Keith attempted to go to Homebase but it was open for collections only. I popped to Boots and he also went to Currys PC World but had no luck there either. Our last stop was the Weston Favell Centre and I couldn't resist driving past my workplace - I was surprised to see cars parked in the car park. If they were from people visiting the surgery next door they may be in for a shock as I'm pretty sure Parking Eye is still operating! And we aren't there to take the calls!

While Keith went to try and find the light bulb, I chatted with my workmates on WhatsApp and I discovered that Sheila was busy putting on all the playscheme places for the summer holidays. How I wish I was in at work doing that as well!

Keith had no luck with the light bulb so we went home, had lunch and then I spent a fair amount of time looking at local care homes on the computer. There is one near us in Moulton that looks lovely and will take couples so I submitted a request for a brochure.

Keith and I sat out in the garden for a while (it was glorious) and when Sophie arrived home we chatted and had a glass of wine. Let's not forget it's Friday and wine night! My Mum called several times and seemed upset but she did sound calmer than yesterday and I think she understood why she needed to be in hospital.

After dinner of quiche and salad, my Aunt Pat called and we had another long chat about my parents. She is now in a beautiful care home near Norwich and loves it, so that was great to hear. She struggled very much when my Uncle died so it was lovely to hear how much she was enjoying being pampered.

After I put the phone down to her, my cousin Beverley called and I chatted with her and her husband, Steve who was in a similar position to me some years ago with his parents. It was great to know they wanted to help and to be able to talk to someone who understood.

All I know is, I do not want to have an old age where I'm frail and dependent!

2 comments:

Linda Kelly said...

Hi Jane. Been thinking about you today. So sorry to read about your lovely parents, as if things weren't tough enough at the minute. I'm glad you have the family around. Take care x

Janie said...

Hello Linda, thank you so much for your lovely comment. Things are undeniably tough at the moment and not sure of the way forward but it helps to know people are thinking of us and that support is there. Keep safe and hopefully things will get better soon for all of us. Xxxxx