Sometimes Babu says something that makes me angry. It’s not anger at her, it’s anger with myself. It’s anger when I should have been there to help her and I wasn’t. This morning Babu wakes up, goes to the bathroom, comes out with a cheerful “dzien dobry!” and I get breakfast started as usual. Then…
Tag: caretaking
Reading with Babu
Babu has been fixated lately on the more glum things about being 99. And about the world. She complains more than she used to. By that I mean, she complains way less than she should but she never really used to complain at all. She hates that her hands are always cold and attributes it…
You Must Wait (reblogged)
The end of the month of the A to Z Challenge gets a little tougher. I don’t think it has anything to do with stamina, just letters which are a little more difficult to come up wih something for. I was search old posts for something else today and I decided i would reblog this…
X: Things I do not do
The things I do not do: (Cross them out with an X!) I do not leave things on the floor. I try not to remind her that she has moved past the years when she can pick up things from the floor herself. How demoralizing that must feel. I do not let her in on…
Cruisers, Cartography, and Caring for Him
Today I am realizing that maybe – hopefully! – there are a lot of new people visiting my blog. Thank you. A quick explanation to what you will be reading: (You can also check it out by clicking “What This Is.”) My husband and I live with his grandmother who just turned 99 and we…
Advice to Partner Caretakers
Yesterday we had a difficult time with Babu. For a while now, she just hasn’t been quite herself. No eminent danger, she’s in no pain, and she will be 99 on the 11th, so we must take that into account when we see that she is sleeping most of the day and having low appetite…
Writing Wednesday #2: Release
What would you do if a genie told you he could wave a magic wand, (I know I’m mixing my metaphors here, but bear with me,) and you could write creatively, what ever you wanted, as your only job? You’ve passed all the rites to get you to adulthood: graduated, got two degrees, had a…
May, 1937
I’m going to get this disappointment out of the way because I know it’s been on my mind. I’m sure it’s been on yours, too. Hasn’t it? On May 6th, 1937, the Hindenburg explodes. Here was Babu’s journal entry on that day: Thursday, May 6th, 1937 Thank you for a lovely evening! It was lovely. …
Comparison
Mostly what this project has done is brought me closer to Babu and shown me how similar we are. Two major aspects of similarities between us were her insecurity and her theatre life. I could relate greatly to both and even to how she only ever got the small roles. But sometimes I see large…
It’s a Thin Line
I haven’t shared much in the way of passages lately with Babu. In the way of excuses I have: I began the year with a pretty bad cold and wasn’t putting my germy laptop in front of Babu, then the first day I went to share the computer battery died, then I’ve been working a…
April, 1937
In April, 1937, she has just turned 19, is in college to be a secretary, has best friends Ernie and Zosh. Sometimes I do that to center myself because as we speak I am down stairs with her “doing breakfast” and she is 98, has had four kids, needs help with making food, unlacing her…
February, 1937 Excerpts
More evidence that Babu only looks far away and not right under her nose: Tuesday, February 9th, 1937 Last dance tonight. Francis Cebula and I went together. Jaime gave me the ticket, bought me a sundae, took me home, but that doesn’t change my attitude toward him. I can’t help it. I just can’t go…
transcribingmemory 