Chapter Eight - Ordinary Days

Wednesday afternoon saw nine people seated in our smallish lounge room for a study group. She sat at the rear where she became uncomfortable and found the need to stand at the kitchen bench top. "I said something a couple of times but I don't think the rest of the group heard me. You were near the front so I was unable to catch your eye" she said later.

After a night of disturbed sleep, awake from 4am, meds at 7:30am she slept between 8am and 10am. Then for a session of Bowen therapy. Margaret suggested she begin spacing her visits three weekly rather than two now that her muscles need less treatment. Perhaps this is the way to go now that her major leg and back pains have subsided, not that she is without pain. A few days ago she experienced severe pain between knees and feet because her legs wished to extend stiffly whenever she was seated. Then down the street to join the local video shop for light entertainment for her. We collected six DVD titles for $6. The girl advised us that video tapes were only 50 cents on Tuesdays. Do we look so much like old age pensioners & who wants old technology? Her selection contained a few tear jerkers that have not been good for her emotional state. More comedy & musicals next time. Anyway, to celebrate a pleasant day we had fetta & spinach rolls with salad to break our diet at the club (the thought of sticky date pudding & the like entered not our minds) . Such behaviour also indicates we are not Anglicans in this season of Lent. Although our dieting made us feel bloated after this lash out so in the evening we ate very little.

Then followed a good night's sleep (11pm to 5:30am followed by dozing) that dawned to a day out of sorts. She needed to do the washing so stripped the beds. Later I went looking for her to find her stuck down the side of my bed attempting to position a fitted sheet. She was upset. The confined space prevented her backing out. Two king-sized singles in an average sized bedroom leaves little space at the edges when she needs a reasonable walkway down the centre. "You get upset when going to bed to find your bed not made" she accused me as I pushed my bed aside for her to escape. She is correct on that point, although I don't expect her to do the chore for me. To me, facing a bed lacking sheets at midnight tends to ruin the desire for sleep; perhaps this is the male horror equivalent to the female revulsion of seeing a raised toilet seat (about which I was educated many years ago). We hung the washing late in the afternoon. Concern that the clothes be left on the line overnight. Later she had a long phone chat with a friend who has been through extremely difficult & stressful times in recent months. I overheard her comment "I'm fine" followed by her usual laughter, obviously in response to a question about her health; I concentrated on the movie I was watching in the other room - although our problems may be slight in comparison I made comment later. "People don't want to know about my little problems" she replied. Just before going to bed I found her printing daily encouragement notes emailed to us for our new Wednesday afternoon study. She wants to give them to the email-challenged ladies who attend from our village. While I frown and explain that this will be at least 120 pages of possibly wasted paper she says "I can't do much so maybe this will encourage them".

Although the nights are becoming cooler now she needed the fan blowing across her during the night.