Saturday, February 11, 2006
Pretty successful day, today, er, yesterday.
The Dailies tell part of the story. We've begun an even healthier eating regimen than before and I've decided to insist on some sort of exercise almost daily for her. Today we walkered on the driveway, three laps. Although I hadn't intended this, it was so warm and pleasant that as we traipsed up and down the cement I noticed weeds coming up and did some impromptu weeding while she walkered. She was delighted. She supervised, pointing out weeds here and there. This gave her a chance to rest fairly frequently while standing up. During the entire session she sat only twice, and then for only minutes. At one point she tried to maneuver her walker onto the uncemented part of our yard so she could search out more weedlets for me to pull. It didn't work well; she gave up quickly. But, I expect she'll try again, and again, and as she gets stronger she'll be more successful. I think I'll make it a policy to do small yard chores while she walkers. It keeps her interest up and, anyway, it sounds much more interesting to be invited to "do a little yardwork with me" rather than to be invited to "walk the driveway".
I also chose today to change out all our light bulbs, trading out 75 watters for 60 or 40 watters, 60 watters for 40 watters and 40 watters for 25 watters. She insisted on moving from room to room with me, with a chair, which I transported, so she could "spot" me. Yes, I made sure that she was a safe distance away so that if I truly did have an accident she would be in no danger. When we finished she suggested we go back to the table and figure out how much electricity we'd be saving. Overall, just with lighting, we should drop about 1/3 in our usage. I'm not sure how that will square with our bill, though, since a lot of our electricity goes to heating water, doing laundry, the television, the computer(s), cooking, fan usage (which is important, since we don't have central heating/cooling) and her oxygen concentrator. But, it was fun to be involved with her in shaving money off our electricity bill, however little it turns out to be.
I gave her a choice, this evening, for tomorrow's exercise: Either "yardwork" or Costco. She chose Costco. I know she'll be hitting the kiosks pretty heavily so I'll plan a light dinner...maybe pick up some shrimp and we'll have shrimp cocktail and pickled asparagus spears.
I have to confess, I'm feeling pretty smart and smug about my determination about what to do about her low HA1c. Maybe I'll be kicked in the ass by my decision, but, you know, it's enough for me that I feel confident about how I go about considering these things and coming to treatment decisions. There are going to be times when I feel at sea, I know, especially as she advances toward death. In the meantime I feel confident that, one way or another, I can stay afloat and manage her health care with as much success as necessary.
Time for bed. We've got a busy day, tomorrow. I want to finish up the taxes this weekend and get them out on Monday, too. I'll have to be very stern with Mom regarding her interest in what I'm doing. I'm hoping I'll be able to get all the rest done while she's sleeping, then I won't have to contend with how much her interest slows me down. Sometimes it's necessary to not include her in the stuff I do to keep the business of her life running smoothly.
Later.
I also chose today to change out all our light bulbs, trading out 75 watters for 60 or 40 watters, 60 watters for 40 watters and 40 watters for 25 watters. She insisted on moving from room to room with me, with a chair, which I transported, so she could "spot" me. Yes, I made sure that she was a safe distance away so that if I truly did have an accident she would be in no danger. When we finished she suggested we go back to the table and figure out how much electricity we'd be saving. Overall, just with lighting, we should drop about 1/3 in our usage. I'm not sure how that will square with our bill, though, since a lot of our electricity goes to heating water, doing laundry, the television, the computer(s), cooking, fan usage (which is important, since we don't have central heating/cooling) and her oxygen concentrator. But, it was fun to be involved with her in shaving money off our electricity bill, however little it turns out to be.
I gave her a choice, this evening, for tomorrow's exercise: Either "yardwork" or Costco. She chose Costco. I know she'll be hitting the kiosks pretty heavily so I'll plan a light dinner...maybe pick up some shrimp and we'll have shrimp cocktail and pickled asparagus spears.
I have to confess, I'm feeling pretty smart and smug about my determination about what to do about her low HA1c. Maybe I'll be kicked in the ass by my decision, but, you know, it's enough for me that I feel confident about how I go about considering these things and coming to treatment decisions. There are going to be times when I feel at sea, I know, especially as she advances toward death. In the meantime I feel confident that, one way or another, I can stay afloat and manage her health care with as much success as necessary.
Time for bed. We've got a busy day, tomorrow. I want to finish up the taxes this weekend and get them out on Monday, too. I'll have to be very stern with Mom regarding her interest in what I'm doing. I'm hoping I'll be able to get all the rest done while she's sleeping, then I won't have to contend with how much her interest slows me down. Sometimes it's necessary to not include her in the stuff I do to keep the business of her life running smoothly.
Later.
