I’ve always been an early riser. Until the sitter started coming in September I had been getting up at 5:00, and sometimes as early as 4:30, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to get to the Y. With engagement of a sitter, I started going to the Y in the afternoon. I stopped using an alarm quite a while ago because it disturbed Kate. I am settling into getting up closer to 6:00 every morning of the week.
Kate’s routine has been different since she retired from the public school system in 1990. Since the time of her diagnosis in 2011, she has rarely gotten up before 8:00. In the last few years, it has been common for her to get up, get some juice and yogurt, and then go back to bed for another hour or so. Her sleeping pattern, like other aspects of her life, vary a good bit from one day to another. My habits are much more regular, and I have tried to maintain a regular schedule during the time that I have been caring for Kate. That has worked well in terms of the times of the day we eat lunch and dinner, but I have deliberately not tried to put Kate on my morning schedule. We have always operated independently in the morning. We both like it that way. I let her sleep as late as she wants. That gives me some quiet time to take care of getting my breakfast, checking email, taking care of household chores like washing clothes or dishes, completing any obligations in my volunteer activities, and working on this journal.
On the whole, I am pleased with the way this has worked out. There are occasions, however, when I have to make changes in my schedule. Yesterday was one of those. I was just about to leave for my morning walk at 7:15 when Kate walked into the kitchen ready to go to Panera. I hesitated a moment and then decided to change to my regular clothes and go to Panera. As it turned out, that worked well. Kate was ready to come back home after an hour or so. She wanted to work outside which I knew would occupy her for a while; so I took my walk. It had warmed up a bit since 7:15, and the sun was out. It made for an unusually nice walk.
The rest of the day went well. The sitter was here at 1:00, and I left for a meeting at the bank. As I left, Kate and the sitter were outside. I told them I was off to a meeting. Kate said, “I’m in good hands.” Once again, I felt good that she has accepted having a sitter so naturally. After my meeting, I dropped by Whole Foods with my laptop and worked on this journal until time to relieve the sitter at 5:00. When I got home, Kate and the sitter were in the family room where Kate was working on her iPad. Since having a sitter, I have purchased a gift card at Panera. I told the sitter to use it if Kate wanted to go to Panera for a bagel while I was gone. They almost always do. This time Melissa told me that Kate had not wanted to go out. I’m not sure why. It made me wonder if she has felt a little self-conscious about taking her sitter with her. I would be a bit surprised since they have done this several times before.
We finished the day at our favorite pizza place. Then we came back home and watched the evening news while Kate worked on her iPad. It had been a good day.
