a heart is captive

a heart is captive

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

The Other Side of the Care Giver

When I invited my 97(at the time 95) year old Aunt to come and live with me, I knew there would be some adjustments on both sides. Over all the experience is nice and I am happy. However there are a few places that are like a rock in a hiking boot. Neither is cause by the Old One but by my own personality and lifestyle.
I am a morning person who can wake up all bright eyed and bushy tailed at 6am. Her idea of morning is 10:30am.

I am a radical progressive liberal. She is FOX republican.

I like a cool house, to wear sweaters and feel a bit chilly after living in hell for so many years, she likes to be in Hawaii in thin clothes and wants the air to feel like her skin temperature.

I am a vegetarian and she is a "meat hound" as she describes herself.

She loves Direct TV and I hate, loathe, and despise all things cable TV and broadcast TV.

So when one of the things I do not like starts to get on my nerves I need to vent and here is best.
I tried to eat what I prepared for her meals since when she moved here with me I was exhausted from my own relocation and the trip to California to bring her to Maine where I relocated to. The round trip air travel caused me a lot of health problems. And I let the Direct TV be set up on the TVs.
I do get up early still but the time I have I enjoy the only thing I hit my speed when she is ready to be tended to and I stop to tend to her breakfast, her newspaper and making her chair and room comfortable. Takes about an hour on me to make her coffee just right and try to scramble her eggs correctly. I was drinking coffee with her but noticed it was making me edgy and nervous so I am back on tea which I prefer. She likes tea but only if it is brewed from loose tea and served in a china cup and saucer. Oh and it needs to be brewed in a china teapot for 5 minutes only, too.
I throw a bag of King Cole in my mug and let it sit until it gets to be the right color and then pop out the bag since it is good for 2 cups.
I tired eating meat for nearly a year and it was not easy. At first it was OK. I can't abide poultry at all. However, late last year I had to call it quits on the meat. I was being grossed out everyday and the mental anguish was brutal. For the last 6 to 8 weeks before I quite completely I was giving my meat to the cats. They miss that a lot!
So I am happily a vegan-ish vegetarian again. I feel better and eat a bigger variety of food again. The Old One eats vegetarian too at times but does not know it since I use TVP beefy crumbles for the spaghetti sauce, for the taco filling, for the tamale pie. And for the hulupse casserole.

So the latest thing that has sent me over the bend is the Direct TV. I am paying for 100s of stations of garbage. I found 3 that I like: The Weather Channel, TCM, and Sonic Tap New Age Music. I try the others once in a while and regret trying them in about 3 minutes. The HGTV station is meant to make people want HIGH END everything and promote stainless steel for the masses and granite as the only counter top material. I have never seen so many "reality" shows in my life. Every station seems to have their share and some stations, like HGTV, is 100% reality show format. Where is Christopher Lowell when I need him? So I listen to the Weather channel to get the local report for here in Maine, watch old movies when they are not re-showing the same ones 6 times in 3 weeks, and I listen to the New Age Music. I have it on since I pay a lot of money for the "privilege" of having the Direct TV and I hate to waste money on something I can not use.
So this morning one third of the stations I use on Direct TV is gone. I tried the brand X station they substituted and I ask when does my local weather come on....in an hour never!
I have a lot of other things that tax my patience but they are here Old One or not.
My head hurts from the warm house, I need another cup of tea she will be down soon.

No comments:

Post a Comment