The last few weeks my life has felt like a blur, I will
spare you the details. But my husband continued to fall at home and ended up in
the hospital again. Now he is home again - on Hospice care. I also have 24/7
caregiver assistance. (The caregivers are absolutely wonderful with my husband
and so very kind to me. They are like a new group of dear friends.) A hospital bed is in our great room and he’s
been receiving a few visitors each day which he enjoys immensely, even when
he’s confused. He has always been a story teller and people person. I also
ended up in E.R. and had to go through a battery of tests – thus the caregiver
situation. Well, enough of that.
I’ve found that I had more real friends than I realized, so
many have offered help. My standard answer was, “Thank you, but we’re
managing.” Then a close friend said, “Stop saying that! You are not managing!
If people offer to help, tell them what you need!” I started to reach out and
the response has been wonderful. It makes me feel blessed.
I’m sending this as
part of an email because I have not had time to get registered with the new
blog server. Hopefully by next month…
I’ve started writing
a bit here and there. It makes me feel good despite the circumstance we are living through. I’ve
read a few books during the last two months, a couple by my husband’s hospital
bed. Reading is an especially comforting escape.
Songbirds, by Christy Lefteri. 2021. Fiction. This is a
richly layered plot with excellent character development. Set in the author’s
narrative Cyprus, Nisha, a domestic worker disappears and only the mother she
served and her lover who lives in the upstairs apartment seem to care. As they
search for her, they realize how little they actually know about her. What they
discover changes them all. An unforgettable story. It‘s the first book I’ve
read about Cypress. I highly recommend this novel.
The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon. 2024. Historical Fiction.
This was an NPR best book of the year. It’s a gripping tale – part murder
mystery and part historical fiction. Martha, the protagonist, has given a new
dimension to character resilence as a midwife in a small tight knit community
near Boston in 1789. She seems to know everyone’s secrets as she’s the only
medical person in the area. A working mother with nine children, mostly grownup
but several still at home. She has an extraordinary relationship with her
husband. If you like to learn about the way things were. Then this page-turner
is for you. I loved it.
More or Less Maddy, by Lisa Genova. 2025. If you’ve ever known
anyone diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, this book is for you. The author’s
written another fabulous book about a well-known and little understood mental
illness that affects millions of Americans. The protagonist is Maddy, a
stressed-out college freshman in NYC with no declared major and no direction
for her life. She feels overwhelmed and the odd one out in her ‘perfect’
family. She’s prescribed an antidepressant and spirals into a wild mania. The
plot also includes how the illness affects families, as well as Maddy’s passion
for the comedy club circuit. I also highly recommend this novel.
We’ve watched some excellent television shows before my
husband’s hospitalization. But I honestly don’t remember which ones they
were. I know we watched several biographies
of US Presidents that he really enjoyed. I’ve not watched any television for
two weeks, not even the news.
Till next time, stay well and keep reading my friends.
Later, Ann