Kate woke up at 4:30 and again at 5:30 this morning. In both instances, she tapped my arm and softly said, “Hey.” One of those times (I can’t remember which) she said, “Is the party over? Are they still here?” I explained that we were the only ones in the house but didn’t say much more as I didn’t want to encourage an extended conversation at that time. At 5:50, I decided to get up. She was still awake. I told her I was going to get dressed and then get breakfast.
I was just about to take my omelet out of the pan a few minutes before 6:30 when I heard her voice from the video cam. She said, “Hey.” Before I could take the pan off the stove, she called again. When I got to her, she had a big smile on her face and looked wide awake. I asked what I could do for her, and she asked me to sit on the side of the bed. I did. She acted like I was an old friend she hadn’t seen in a while. She asked what I had been doing. I told her I was just fixing my breakfast. Then I answered her in the way that I might have responded to a friend who had asked the same question. I told her about my daily routine minus the caregiving and blogging parts. I mentioned things like exercising at the Y and meeting friends for coffee. When I said something about my involvement with United Way. She said, “What’s that?” I told her about some of the United Way programs. That sparked a conversation that lasted forty-five minutes before I went back to the kitchen to fix another omelet.
The conversation shifted from my telling her what I did to my being the facilitator. She was very talkative. As usual, she was quite repetitive. The major themes were the many needs of people, the ways in which we can help, and the fact that both the giver and receiver benefit. Despite the repetition and stumbling on specific words and phrasing of what she wanted to say, she was remarkably coherent. She talked about the benefits that organizations can play in managing programs like homeless shelters and soup kitchens. I brought up the role that churches can also play in such programs. She also mentioned how individuals could make a difference doing things like preparing food for a family experiencing illness or just inviting someone to lunch.
I was fascinated by hearing what she had to say, but I was also thinking about my breakfast. I was hungry, and she seemed so wide awake that we could go on a long time. I told her I was feeling the need for a little breakfast. She suggested I go ahead. We talked briefly about what a nice conversation we had had. I asked what she wanted to do. She said she thought she would rest a while longer. It’s been a little over an hour. She is still in bed. I’m not sure what to expect next. This is a day for the sitter. I hope she will get up without my having to wake her. That always makes getting up a little easier.
