At home

Well, almost, anyway.  I was woken up this morning by the Small People, who were pushing at my door at what felt like the crack of dawn, carrying toys and climbing all over me.  I will admit to feeling tired today, as the last week is catching up to me and I fell asleep on myself a few times.  My nephew was home as he was diagnosed with pneumonia so he’s supposed to be resting.  He spent most of the day having me read to him, and smiling his lovely little smile as he planned some mischief or other.  My niece was at daycare, and on arrival home came to ensure that I was in my appointed place 😂 My boys are looking well and we had a nice chat this morning and a few short talks during the day.  We’ll talk before bed, of course.

I’m still not adapted to the time change, and I looked at the time planning to call home and realized that it was later than I expected.  I’ll have to put a reminder in my calendar so I talk to my dad before he retires for the evening, which he tends to do at an unreasonably early hour.  We tried, unsuccessfully, to persuade him to stay up and join us for dinner and chat with the family, but he just insisted that it would disrupt his ‘schedule” and stayed home.  We have also been trying to get him to be more active, as he seems to want to do very little, although he’s in good health overall.  It’s a challenge, as he persists in ignoring all our attempts and wants to tell everyone that he’s ill despite all evidence to the contrary.  I think that he’s seeking attention, since he’s been mainly housebound since the pandemic, and he misses his interactions with his friends, even as he struggles with anxiety brought on by crowds.

Thanks to everyone for the notes on my trip.  I do appreciate hearing from you, as you well know.  Yes, it was a great visit, even though I was trying to squash a month’s worth of visits into a week.  Not the smartest idea of all, as it did mean that I burned through my energy and I’ll need to catch up on that so I can do things again.  I especially valued being able to get live hugs from all the people that I’ve missed for the last 3 years.  I’ve still got a list of others who I want to see and hug, and God willing, I’ll be able to see them in the new year, in several countries.  I’ve got some very kind and overdue invitations from loved ones that I’d very much like to accept.  Honestly, though, I don’t think that Jerry will be too enthusiastic if I plan too many trips in short order; he’s had 3 years of me being at home for the most part, except for time in hospital (which I’m very happy to miss, thank you kindly!  They’re very busy and I think that I should ensure that the nurses don’t have more work to do looking after me.)  I’ll just say that I’d like to travel, and I’ll be planning trips as soon as is practical.  To answer a burning question, no, I’m not planning to move to Trinidad or Tobago any time soon.  I can’t live there any more, although I can (and will) visit when I can.  

I know that I’m harping on this a little, but it’s the first full day of my second decade since diagnosis.  I’m starting to plan a little celebration for when I’m back in Ottawa where we’ll mark the occasion.  Any suggestions for where and what we do would be appreciated.  Looking forward to your ideas!  And now I’m off to carry out my nightly duties to read to my niece.  I don’t know what she has in mind after a 9-day break, so we shall see.  Good night!