Thankful for ...
Pod casts and audio books. I discovered the joys of audio entertainment when my husband start to lose his vision and was forced to transfer his personal library into auto formats. Talk about a silver lining to a dark cloud! Although there are times when reading (and owning) an actual book is preferred, mostly I am happy to listen to the audio version allowing freedom do other things.
Outside my window ...
No rain! Sun. Finally. My world is very green at least for now.
Watching this ...
I have been watching a TV series called The Sixties. This 10 episodes series can be found on Netflix and covers the turbulent and changeable decade of the 1960s. I recommend it.
Here is a brief listing of what that decade contained.
TV comes of Age, The Berlin Wall, Bay of Pigs Invasion, Cuban Missile Crisis, Assassination of JFK, the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, The Beetles and all the British music groups, The Space Race and the man on the moon, the RFK/MLK assassinations, riotous Democratic convention, Nixon's rise to power, social change sparking feminism and the legalization of birth control and gay rights, culture changes with relation to sex and drugs, and Rock and Roll.
Pondering this ...
Why is it necessary that I MUST lay down sometime between 1:00 and 3:00 to "rest my eyes" every single day, even after I have slept well at night, even after I have had plenty of water to drink and not dehydrated, even when I have had a relatively quiet morning. Why, why, why!! Three years ago I didn't need to do that!!
Quoting this ...
I am a fan of Mark Twain's outlook on life.
My week - a Peek ...
This week started on a high note and a low note. On a high note - We enjoyed lunch with good friends. We don't get out as much as we used to - my husband's limited vision makes these kinds of excursions a bit more of a challenge for him - but they are still important. Friends are one of the gems of life. On a low note - we found a wonderful condo that we almost placed an offer on. But when saner heads prevailed over the weekend, we decided to pass on it. It was located about 30 minutes north of our current location. Although 30 minutes doesn't sound all that far, when you are as close as 10 minutes to your family support system, adding another 30 minutes to that commute is not appealing. Oh well, we will be patient and hope that the summer will produce another condo possibility. The rest of the week is uneventful.
What keeps me awake at night ...
I worry (mostly between 2:00 and 4:00 am) that moving my visually impaired husband out of this townhouse (a home he knows intimately) is a mistake. We both agree we should have a residence that would allow us to live on one level. At a minimum, we should live in a place where we could reach our front door easily with a walker or wheel chair. Sadly, this town home is not that place. But right now, in this minute, we are able to live here comfortably. Is it an over reaction to move before the need is there or is it the adult thing to do before we are forced by circumstances? It is easy to talk yourself into staying in a home you love and can manage now. It is the comfortable and simple choice. But just when you have yourself convinced that it is ok to stay ... your husband misses the last step on a flight of steps and falls on his hip. And that is exactly what he did on Sunday. He is ok, but ... guess it is not ok to stay here.
That is it for this week in my little corner of the world.
6 comments:
Egads! You have so much to ponder. I think you are making the right decision but I can understand how it keeps you awake at night. I went to high school in the 60's. What a decade it was too. But, we didn't yet have cell phones or too many drugs to worry about. At least there weren't a bevy of drugs here in my hometown. The most my mom worried about with us was a girl getting pregnant (no one did) or a boy being killed in a war (none were) and there were no run in's with the law.
I think that worry in the wee hours is why you need that early afternoon nap! You are facing huge changes, and that is mentally exhausting. I would have taken a perfect condo 30 minutes farther away, but then, we are 30 minutes from everything out here so to me that is normal. You need to do what is best for YOU.
I think it was simpler in our generation growing up, but I think every generation has said the same thing (and truthfully said the same thing.)
Yes, living in the country does change your perspective on what is geographically close! That is sure.
If we had made that move we would have been 40 to 45 minutes total from our son instead of 10-15 minutes and over an hour away from our daughter. While even those distances don't sound so great those those who have relatives living out of state ... the older we get the more we recognize that my husband doesn't drive now, I may not drive at some point. And even if I do continue to drive at some point it is better to stick to back roads. We live in a congested area with lots of high speed highways and using back roads really adds more time and distance again. So we decided to not trade one problem for another if there was any way to find a closer condo. Living in a planned city it should be possible but it hasn't been as easy as we anticipated.
Ha! And if I wasn't doing some kind of dog duty for my kids 6 out of 7 days a week - that also would simplify things. But I do that because I want to - my grand dogs are part of my quality of life ...
Why can't decisions just be simple ... :-)
Moving is such a stressor in our lives and compound that with worry about your husbands limited eyesight. It is no wonder you can't sleep. And enjoy "resting your eyes" it is one of the perks of getting older. I am happy when I have my granddaughter so I have an excuse to have to lay down for a nap LOL
I guess I fight the idea of naps. I need to get passed that I think.
Yes, this move is very very stressful because no matter where we go his adjustment to a new place will be a HUGE stressor for him and will take time - every waking minute will be a frustration because he will need to work hard to find stuff and move around. He is not an adaptable personality - never has been. But we agree we need to move.
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