Smoky Caribbean chicken and veg with roti

Another easy-ish day today. Mum was in a decent mood, and I even heard her humming along with music on tv, which I mentioned to her only the other day I hadn’t heard her do in some time.

This afternoon Lady Friday (now also Lady Tuesday, apparently, in direct contradiction of what the care agency promised me) came round, and took mum out for a drive. At mum’s request, at that: she really does seem to be feeling better.

I took the rare opportunity offered by a silent house and made a couple of phone calls. The first was to a local solicitor to ask about getting a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) for healthcare set up, having realised I am just not going to be able to do it myself. The person who answered the phone checked mum’s file and noted that her financial LPA was done in 2006 – “before I was born”. And now I feel old. 👴 🤣

Then I called the Living Well and Early Help Team to get myself on their books. Then I emailed the local ambulance service to ask about first aid courses, having realised that my skills are woefully out of date. (I last did first aid training about the same time as the LPA was done. 😬)

Then I played games on my phone and enjoyed not having to compete with the noise of the television for space for my own thoughts.

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For dinner I cooked some smoky Caribbean-style chicken thighs, and added various odds and ends of veg to the pan to make a one-pan meal.

Mum looked at the packet the chicken came in and said “oh, chicken again?” with audible disappointment. Given how few sources of protein she’s prepared to eat these days, she shouldn’t be surprised there’s a bit of repetition in her meals.

After all that, mum actually enjoyed her meal, and finished it with a “that was really good, thank you”.

Now I’ve just got to get through an evening with nothing mum likes on tv, then I can go to bed and do the whole thing again tomorrow. With mum in this current mood, that thought doesn’t seem quite as unbearable as it did just a few days ago.