Wednesday

I’d already got an update on Mum from one of the nurses as I was signing in this evening.

“Hello Mum! It’s Nick. Nadeera says you’ve been laughing and joking all day”

“Well, I’m not now!”

I had, apparently, along with Uncle Eric, done something in the other room that displeased her. I just couldn’t tell what it was.

She thanked me for coming to see her.

“I’m here every day Mum. Whether you like it or not.”

“I know. I know you come a lot. I know it doesn’t often look like it but I do appreciate you coming to see me.”

Mum was in the same frame of mind as everybody else. She wanted to go home.

I got an hour’s worth of instructions of what was and what wasn’t going to have to be packed up. At one point she asked the Other Person in the room with us a question. She called her “Nan” but I couldn’t tell whether she meant Her Nan or My Nan as the person she was speaking to was standing where her mum (My Nan) usually floats.

Mum wasn’t able to get an answer to her questions so I got sent to ask. That was OK when the question was for someone in the room but I got sent out once and was accosted by Eleanor and Annie.

Annie wanted to go home home immediately. I told her to take a seat in the lounge while I organised a taxi. She was worried about the cost and when I said it was my treat she wouldn’t leave me alone.

All the staff on tonight were female. Eleanor needed a man to help her put her “babies” to bed before she went home. As she was walking around with an armful of soft toys as well as her walking frame I thought it was safer for her if I stepped in and helped out. Once they were settled I explained that I was going back to Mum.

“Where’s your Mum then?

“That’s her in there”

“That’s your Mum!?”

Mum waved. Elsie was overjoyed.

Elsie left. Mum gave me more instructions. I got a question for “Nan”

“I’m not asking her that! She’ll give me a back-hander!”

Mum laughed. There was quite a bit of laughter again today.

Eleanor returned to tell me that two of her babies were missing and to accuse me of having them.

I told Mum I was going to leave before the shops shut so I could get some extra boxes for all the stuff she had asked me to pack but wasn’t allowed to leave until I had settled whether “Nan” was coming with me right then or waiting until tomorrow.

Another chatty and reasonably cheerful performance from Mum today. None of the impatience of Peak Active Mum yet and only one Other Person. Only her blanket got chucked to one side. The sheet remained in situ.

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