Appointment

Joanne, this is for you 😈  A couple of others, too, but mainly Joanne!  Although, as I’ve explained to many people “my great-great grandmother passed it down; my great-grandmother passed it down; my grandmother gave it to my mummy, and she gave it to me, so I was born with it!” (With thanks to Alison Hinds for the lyrics)  Another hot, sticky day, and a little dog who was very noisy when he was left in the car with me for all of 2 minutes while Don went to try to do an errand.  He barked, howled, whined and made such a stir that people thought he was alone in a hot car and I saw a couple approaching ready to break him out… then they saw that the windows were open and I was sitting under the dog and they stopped.  Jerry’s suddenly developed separation anxiety if Don is away from him and out of range… he howled when Don went to do his license tests, and again today.  If it’s me, he barks for a bit then goes to sit on Don.  We’ll have to work on getting him used to not touching someone all day every day!

I was woken up this morning by a phone call before 8am.  I know that I’ve developed a habit of waking up late, but I think that’s a really early call… I didn’t answer it, as by the time I registered that it was the phone and not part of a nightmare, I couldn’t have reached the phone to answer it easily.  They called back shortly after 9, and I did answer then.  It was the nurse, trying to arrange a time for my visit; so I explained that I had an appointment at the thrombosis clinic, so in the afternoon would be preferable.  Made it to the hospital with 3 minutes to spare before my appointment (construction = traffic = unplanned delays) and then waited for 20 minutes… the doctor came out to get me; she had no nurse and she said that it had been a very hectic morning.  Anyway, we’re keeping me on an injectable anti-coagulation drug for a while before returning to oral.  I’m ok with that; I’m not squeamish about injecting myself, although I know some people are.

As I mentioned, Don went to do his tests to renew his driver’s licence on Monday, and he passed those.  They are mandatory for everyone over 80, and his licence is only renewed for 2 years instead of 5.  After that, he still had to go get the renewal (and pay the fee) so we tried going to Service Ontario after the hospital.  As mentioned, Jerry was loud while we waited, which wasn’t long, as the room was already spilling over outside with no available seats.  Don went to choose a number and realized that it would be a wait of well over an hour before he was called so we came home.  He was able to renew online, so that’s good.

Children’s literature… I need some input, please.  There are some books and authors I love from my childhood, and there’s a flood of children’s books of varying quality available now.  I would like to introduce the small people to a few of my old favourites, but in rereading some of them I am uncomfortable.  One series, intended for 6-9 year olds, with a group of children who get into various adventures has some themes that I find unsettling… For instance: “Snooping is such a girl thing to do!  It’s so dishonourable!” And “You’re only a girl.  This is man’s work, so the boys will do it.”  I can see my little niece telling me that’s wrong, and I can’t argue with her!  There are lots of short stories which would be acceptable, but then there’s a few where a boy is smoking candy cigarettes and proud because he looks like his dad!  Or where children are arbitrarily sent to live with relatives who starve, beat and neglect them (it always all works out, happy endings, no guns, no deaths) or where a little black doll scrubs their face to make it go white… and I am not sure that these are appropriate.  I remember having to comfort my (then) 8-year-old goddaughter when her mother died because she was terrified of getting a stepmother!  I’ve been told that these are just stories, and they’re for kids, so why would I want to police them?  Because Snow White’s stepmother ordered her killed and her heart brought back and it badly scared a hurt little girl whose mother had just died, that’s why.  Am I wrong?  Am I overthinking this?  The prevalent response seems to be, “I read them as a child and I turned out fine!” (Not always accurate.). Please let me know if I’m just being over reactive!

Day 3 with no caregiver this week, and the agency (like me) hasn’t been able to contact my regular worker.  They were calling for several hours today with no response, and I haven’t heard from her since Friday.  I’ve gone from being annoyed to being worried that something’s happened… I will keep you updated as/when I learn more.  Good night!