I guess I was so happy about our previous day that yesterday’s posts didn’t mention that Kate showed almost no signs of a cold. Wednesday was her best day in the past two weeks. I was relieved that we had avoided anything more serious. Yesterday she was even better.
It was the second day in a row that she got up early, took a shower, and went back to bed. This is a time when I could have let her stay in bed longer, but I wanted to have lunch with her before the sitter arrived. I was glad I did. We had a nice lunch and were back home in time for me to set up the TV in our bedroom with YouTube videos. I chose Andrea Bocelli. I also showed Mary how to search for other videos if they wanted something else. Kate said she wanted to rest a while and got in bed.
While I was at the Y, I checked the video cam several times. Each time they were still in the bedroom watching videos. The same was true when I returned home four hours later. Kate had been up a while and was fully engaged with the music. So was Mary.
Setting up the TV for YouTube or DVDs before I leave has become a regular thing now. That seems to have replaced their afternoon trip to Panera. I still mention the possibility of their going to Panera, but Kate isn’t responsive to that. Yesterday was an exception. She was excited about going but wanted to rest first. After resting, she only wanted to watch Bocelli.
Because my primary focus is on Kate, I don’t say much about other things I do while the sitter is here. Of course, I have my Monday Rotary meeting and my trip to the Y on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but I also meet my friend Mark Harrington every Friday afternoon at Starbucks. We hadn’t met the past two weeks because of Kate’s cold. In both cases, I had forgotten to let him know I wasn’t coming. That’s just one of the things I discover that I have slipped up on lately. I find more things slip through the cracks than they used to. I know some of that might have occurred just because of my age, but I feel sure that my responsibilities for Kate also play a large part.
Anyway, it was good to see Mark again. He’s an interesting man, and we always have a lot to share. He is the one who takes care of the technical issues in connection with the blog. Right now he and I have been working on a book I am editing. The first half consists of three and a half years of emails that I wrote under my dad’s name after his stroke that left him unable to use his computer. The second half is devoted to over 100 pages of Dad’s own biographical notes that he had written for a writing class he attended several years prior to his stroke. We’re close to printing time now. When it is finished, I plan to give copies to the family and a few close friends. That would have happened long before now if I hadn’t found it difficult to work in with my other responsibilities.
Every few weeks I also meet with a church friend whose daughter was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in her fifties. We met for coffee Wednesday afternoon. Our experiences are vastly different. Talking with him underscores how fortunate Kate and I have been not to have other complicating factors beyond the illness itself. Despite our differences, we also have a lot of common experiences. I enjoy being with him. I hope our lack of complications don’t make it less enjoyable for him.
While we were out for our Friday night pizza, we bumped into one of my long-term clients and his wife. They sat down with us and chatted about forty-five minutes. It was good to catch up with them. Kate also enjoyed it. These experiences continue to reinforce my belief that the primary benefit of eating out is that it is a social occasion. Most importantly, it is the type of social occasion that Kate handles quite well. The time is short. We exchange pleasantries and are on our way. It is good for her and for me.
