Day 54: on the unplanned breather

Today Himself got up early to take the car into the dealership to get the tires looked at. He wound up also going by Discount Tire before coming home; the good news is, the tires are basically fine. I stayed in bed until the Queen Mother emerged from the bathroom and was ready for me to help her with breakfast.

I really had intended to make some more phone calls and continue on with gathering together the necessary paperwork for mom's Medi-Cal evaluation, but I luxuriated in the gentle unfolding of the morning instead. After a nice long shower where I washed my hair (a major victory these days if I can get it washed once a week or so), we were off to one of my caregiver support groups. Himself dropped me off, then he went to a nearby Starbucks with his laptop to work on various things.

My goal is to make a support group a week, because I really get a lot out of them: we might not be in the exact same boats, but the people who gather around these tables are definitely floating down the same river. Today there was a presentation about emotional support for caregivers. It didn't go as in depth as I would have liked, but mainly because many of the members were needing to share their experiences. This is the beauty of these groups - we are all caring for someone, and we need to have these times where we can talk about what we're going through, without judgment. Advice flows freely, whether asked for or not, but most of the time it's well received.

I touched base with Himself just as the meeting ended, and we came directly home. We were greeted by the sight of several of the condo buildings tented for the fumigation. I don't think our building was the only one that opted out of this round, but it definitely looked a bit ominous with several huge tarps covering over so many of the buildings in the complex, maybe a third of all the buildings here.

I am feeling a lot lighter this evening. I hadn't realized I was needing a break from all of the hoop-jumping until I actually took it. Tomorrow, Himself has a pair of appointments which he's going to need my help with, and it looks to be an early start on a rainy day. I had been looking forward to enjoying the rain in the comfort of home, but there you are. Perhaps another day...