Garlic and herb chicken, roast Mediterranean veg, potato rosti; apple crumble and cream

When I last wrote, some friends of mum’s had popped in to see her. One of them commented how much needs doing – not judging, just stating facts – and asked me how I was doing. I said “tired” then, somewhat embarrassingly, started crying.

After some consolation and the offer of a hug, which I politely declined as I’m not a very tactile person, the friend offered to take mum out for lunch one day this week so I have a couple of undisturbed hours to call Age UK, Carers UK, and anyone else who might help, as I think it’s clear to everyone that I’m struggling.

I can’t pretend I had any big plans for how my life would go in my 40s, but I certainly didn’t picture being physically disabled and a carer, living in my mother’s spare bedroom with barely enough belongings that carrying them all at once would be a problem. I just hope I get to the head of the queue for therapy soon, before crying at people becomes a habit.

Dinner was another one of those meals that look and sound a bit fancy, but everything comes from the freezer and takes minimal effort: my favourite easy style of cooking right now. The chicken comes in bags of four, ready marinaded, from Iceland, and is really very good. The rosti is also from Iceland and is a pain in the proverbial to cook – try to turn it over and it falls to bits, many of which make a concerted effort to escape the frying pan – and goes cold before it goes from kitchen to table¹, but is very tasty. The Mediterranean veg is good, but you know that.

The crumble was also from the freezer, as I discovered I just didn’t have the energy to make one from scratch as intended, easy as that is. It was nice, although I suspect I’ll regret the cream later, having already had ice cream today. (Sorry, digestive system, I know you and lactose aren’t friends.)

So that was Sunday: tomorrow is a bank holiday Monday that won’t be any different to any other day for me. I just hope that mum remembers her promise to not wake me up tomorrow morning unless it’s an emergency. We’ll see. 🤷‍♂️

1. Admittedly plus a few minutes trying to get a good photo. ↩︎