Chicken slice, chips, green beans

Today started as very much a continuation of yesterday, with me grabbing my phone just a fraction too late to answer it. Luckily the GP practice’s website was accepting messages, as it only does during opening hours, so I was able to send a message to let the caller know I was now awake and had my phone in my hand.

She called back and was very helpful, considering the whole of mum’s situation rather than the individual symptoms. Mum has been prescribed more antibiotics and some different intimate cream, and I hope they turn up early tomorrow as I think it’s unlikely they’ll get here tonight now. (It’s nearly 7pm at the time of writing.)

Throughout the call, and for several hours afterwards, mum was the definition of “fretful”, complaining then apologising, crying, getting angry, apologising again, then starting the cycle over again. At one point I decided to count how many times mum said something complain-y, and the total in one hour around lunchtime (i.e. when she had started to feel a bit better) was 31 separate complaints. And she was asleep – or at least dozing – for about 20 minutes of that.

That’s a lot of complaining.

Thankfully, before I could commit matricide, mum started feeling a little better. Of course then came the passive-aggressive ‘suggestions’ of things I should be doing.

I have got fairly good at deciphering mum-speak, her memory of words being worst affected by the Alzheimer’s, but one of these ‘suggestions’ left me stumped: “have you done the animals yet? The… um… horses! Flattened horses. On the piece of paper.” Mum got quite annoyed that I failed to grasp her meaning.

Eventually I worked out what she meant: the newest Radio Times contained a leaflet from a charity that provides veterinary care for working animals around the world, illustrated by a photo of a donkey which had collapsed (poor thing 😪), and mum wanted me to make a donation from her account. Knowing this, I can see how she got to “flattened horses on the piece of paper”, but I can also see how that left me mystified!

For dinner I went super low-effort and just did chicken slices (pasties) with chips and green beans. Of the chicken slices, I can only say that it’s a good thing it said on the box what flavour they were as you would never be able to guess from eating them.

Well, that was another day. Tomorrow will be another another day. I had planned to go down to the village for the local Christmas tree festival, but if mum’s like she was this morning I won’t go in case I can’t bring myself to come back.¹

1. Jk. Mostly. ↩︎