Mom & Me Four Archive

...that yesterday was a caddy-wampus day. Mom is still sleeping and, frankly, it wouldn't surprise me if she slept until around 1300 or so. She hasn't been up at all so it isn't going to be a case of her going back to bed numerous times. I haven't yet checked to see if her sheet is wet. So far it's not wet enough so I can see it peaking in on her.
    TOC in a new stage. This is the first post past the compilation point. Although I'll mark bits of these, if necessary, for inclusion in the index, these posts on will, hopefully, "enter themselves automatically" when I tag parts of them with radioactive isotopes. Oh. Sorry. Different project. You know what I mean. The emergence of the actual TOC may be a week or two (or more) off, but I'm there, now. "[I'm] swimming upstream to spawn." --Robin Williams, Inside the Actors Studio Interview
    I'm amazed that I stayed up when Mr. Man (our new kitten) started frisking me awake at 0730. But, you know, I thought about it, I was feeling pretty good, tired but pleasantly so. So, I decided, if I get up now I can run a few errands and still have a few hours to work on the TOC compilation.
    I'll probably do stats today. I'm assuming there will be an appropriate time to take them. I almost got in evening stats yesterday but somehow I forgot.

    Overnight Prescott has begun its yearly Greening. Our foremost tree is a little slow, this year. I'm not sure why. Our "Susan's", both Black-eyed and Yellow-eyed, have already broken ground this year. Lots of riparian grass in the back, almost a half foot high already. First crop of wild onions ready to harvest. Today is the first day I expect to have all windows and screened doors open all day long. Rain would be nice, but this is nice, too.
    This morning, on my way back from my last errand, I was idly anticipating the results of her next blood draw, which will occur at the end of this month, considering how the increased iron might affect her numbers and her spirit. I factored:

• That the iron is obviously making a difference to her digestion, she is having bowel movements every day, now, which may be a good sign, I don't know;
• Although just lately she's been sleeping a lot, she is definitely peachier when she's up, she can be easily shamed into "straightening up and flying right, or you're going to hurt yourself" so I know she has energy available;
• She has a history of iron supplements involving volatile reactions as her body gets used to them, especially when she was pregnant and they'd discover, yet again, that she was anemic;
• Who knows why but her kidneys are still working well, even under a little stress;
• She feels good;
• She's happy
• Her appetite for everything is good.

    As I was factoring, I noticed how easily I made the switch from "reading" Mom internally (during which I actually visualize her organs and what they might be doing, in color, I might add) to "reading" her externally; how I combine the two perspectives with one dual perspective, like her "peachy" skin color. I can't remember ever imagining anyone in such detail as I do my mother in order to keep tabs on her. I've done some rigorous "reading" of some people, particularly MDL, for long periods of time, but never to this extent and never so automatically. It's valuable to the caregivers' tasks to use these perspectives, almost wear them out. I wouldn't recommend it, though, in day to day acquaintanceships, not even, most of the time, in an intimate family circle. This, caring for Ancient Ones and/or The Infirm, it's a different kind of caregiving. That's for sure.
    Later.