Monday

From what I saw at The Home today this looks like being another unorthodox cycle for Mum.

Day One Awake should be Unhappy, Uncomfortable, Uncommunicative and Uncooperative. And it should be free of Other People.

She was dozing when I went in but responded straight away as soon as I spoke to her. She said she was pleased to see me.

“And how are you feeling Mum?”

“Much better”

“Well, you certainly look and sound loads better. That’s got to be good”

She nodded and kind of half smiled in appreciation.

Smiling? On Day One? That never happens.

Once I’d told her that The Dog got us up in the night to throw up, was in an out of the garden until about 4am, hadn’t eaten anything yet today and refused to go on an early walk before it got too hot, I’d run out of news. I wasn’t going to tell her how bad Lesley’s dad had been over the past couple of days, how weak, wobbly and incredibly frail he was or how he is going to bed with painkillers straight after his tea.

Mum asked for a drink. She never does that on Day One.

I tried to mention her visitors yesterday as obliquely as I could. She had no recollection. Obviously.

“Could you read me some stories?”

“Of course I could Mum”

She listened more attentively than you’d expect on Day One.

“They’re good little stories these aren’t they Mum?”

“Yeah. They all are.”

The second chapter got interrupted by stomach ache and she started calling for a doctor and then some uncles. Today’s favourite – Uncle George.

Calling for a doctor? That never happens. Not at any point in her Sleepy/Active cycle. And Uncle George? I think he was the head of the household she was evacuated to when she was a child.

I finished the chapter and then she told me that her mum was over by the wardrobe again.

The more the stomach ache bothered her the more she slipped back into standard Day One mode as she got unhappier and more uncomfortable. Some ructions were kicking off in the lounge and neither of us could make ourselves heard over Audrey. But I think Mum was content to doze off holding my hand anyway.

I told her I was going to go and leave her to get some proper sleep and that I’d be back tomorrow.

“Don’t forget!”

“I won’t. I’m here every day whether you like it or not.”

She didn’t smile at that like she did last time I said it.

Bibliography

Tales from the Parish: 31 humorous short stories about community, family and village life, set in the English countryside

Kindle Edition

by Stefania Hartley

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