Sunday

The surreal atmosphere at The Home had intensified to another level this afternoon. Steve seemed to be in a bit of a daze. I don’t think he has a job to go to when The Home closes. Everybody else was focussed on the job in hand even though the only residents left were Mum and Lily.

Not that Mum knew much about it. I did the standard test for Unresponsive Mum – “HELLO MUM!! IT’S NICK!!” said three times – and got nothing. I even shook her shoulder. Still nothing. Well, I say nothing… The snoring got slightly louder.

I returned to the lounge and asked the staff if they were OK. The youngest said that today was her last shift and that she was starting a new job much nearer home.

I thanked her for all she’s done. In fact I thanked them all. They’ve made a tough situation so much easier. Lesley’s dad is a constant worry. A proper 24/7 worry. I don’t have to worry about Mum at all. I have total faith in everyone at The Home.

I asked whether any of them knew what was happening to Lily. Her son is collecting her in the morning and he’s taking her to a home much nearer to him. The two-hour journey could be a challenge but I was relieved that something had been sorted for her. While nothing definitive was said, I got the strong impression that Lily’s enthusiasm for escape attempts had been the issue when finding her a new home.

Lily and Audrey had been talking this morning. They had discussed the fact that The Home was going to be demolished and rebuilt. For all Audrey’s anxiety about not knowing what was going on, she knew full well what was going on.

So that was it. Mum’s last full day at The Home. Her belongings, such as they were, were all boxed up and ready to go in the morning.

With any luck she’ll sleep through the whole thing.

Author’s Note

My Mum is in a nursing home in a small village in the Thames Valley. The photo is not of the home. I used an AI image generator to give the reader some idea of the home she’s in.

All, some or maybe even none (you’ll never know!) of the names have been changed to protect privacy and hide real identities. If you think you recognise someone then let me know and I’ll edit the post or remove it entirely