And That’s A Wrap

Grandfather and Granddaughter are at  the gym, Daughter is at work, the pups are digging into an early dinner, and I’ve got a few minutes to pop in here and tie up the week with a post.

I lost track of time this week and was certain it was Saturday when I got up this morning.  It’s been a topsy-turvy week—literally—as my old nemesis, vertigo, stopped by for a visit. Thankfully, this bout hasn’t been as bad as previous ones that had me flat out on the bathroom floor with nausea. It’s been manageable and I daresay it’s easing off.

Thought I’d take a different approach to Friday’s Fave Five and write one thing for each weekday this week.

Monday. Murphy and I enjoyed a visit and playdate with a longtime friend and her year old pup, Suzy, who is Murphy’s half-sister. Though younger than our tiny boy, Suzy is bigger. It was such fun to see them together. I meant to capture a photo to mark the day but didn’t have an opportunity.

On Tuesday, I enjoyed coffee and conversation in a coffeeshop with a friend and got lost for a while in the book I’m currently reading, Fight Night by Miriam Toews. I’m really enjoying it.

I was supposed to have a dental appointment on Wednesday, but cancelled it due to the vertigo. The mere thought of being put back in the chair sent the room spinning. Instead, I planted marigolds along the border of our new backyard garden.

Thursday. It was far too windy to do anything outside so I dabbled with paint in the morning and worked on a piece for my writing group, and Gerry and I ran errands in the afternoon.

Friday. I’ve spent most of the morning painting. Honestly, these days I’m either painting, watching videos about acrylic abstract painting, or thinking about painting. Practice, practice, practice! One thing I learned today, after receiving a delivery of new brushes yesterday, is that the right supplies makes all the difference.

I’ve been pondering the changing seasons of life, specifically in terms of aging.

The sons of one of our neighbours have been at her house this week doing some work to help their mom age in place. I’ve heard rumours that they are working on getting her to move closer to them which would, of course, make it easier for them to look in on her and help her out as needed.

I spoke to a woman a couple of weeks ago who moved to Kamloops last fall to be closer to her children for the same reason.

The mother of another friend is moving her mom to an apartment building a stones throw away from where she lives.

I think of the sacrifice in terms of time and travel Gerry and his siblings put into caring for their aging parents for a number of years. In this tangible display of love, they came full circle by caring for parents who lovingly raised their children to be community-minded people of integrity

In the same vein, there was sad news about the passing of Kathy Pooler, a writing friend of mine this morning. Kathy was one of the most generous and thoughtful women I’ve been fortunate to know. We never met in person, but connected years ago through our mutual blogs and were part of the same writing community. Here’s a link to her blog, Memoir Writer’s Journey.

There’s a lot more I wanted to say about aging, and the cycle of children caring for parents, but it escapes me now. That’s the trouble with deviating from my normal practice of writing early in the morning. No excuse, I know, but a partial explanation, maybe?