No, I'm not reliving my past and singing along to the Boomtown Rats.
Mondays are bad days in this house. Monday is blood test day. Mum resents having her blood tested, it reminds her that she is ill. It is inconvenient and gets in the way of her life. As if that were not bad enough, sometimes she has to go for a follow up test and a transfusion, and that really spoils her day, well actually it spoils the whole week. I'm not in a good place myself on a Monday, I'm on edge all day, waiting for her to get back from the hospital and wondering what sort of mood she will be in, knowing it won't be good and that she will be angry and snappy and as I am the one here waiting for her, I'm the one who will get all of that frustration. I'm also the one who receives the call from the hospital and has to relay the results. Not a pleasant job even when they show an improvement, and a horrid job when I have to relay bad news.
I've made the decision to reduce my working hours by one shift a week and I've come to the conclusion that I really shouldn't work on Mondays, I really don't cope any better than Mum does. We had a chat this evening Mum and I, she reassures me, that she is not angry with me, she says she is angry with Luke (The illness) and she doesn't mean to take it out on me and upset me. She says Mondays don't exist any more. I too feel that I have lost Mondays. We agreed that we need to find a way to inject a little positivity into our Mondays. Getting together for lunch or a look at the shops is out as blood clinic can take anything from 2 - 4 hours, which kind of screws up your day. I could go and sit in the hospital with her, but that has kind of become my brothers job, he sees to the test and I deal with home and the results, I don't want to take that away from him, besides he says that gives me a little time off. So what can I do to make Mondays better, for both/all of us. Maybe we should go out for tea on Mondays, or I should bake a cake or another sweet treat, Mum has a very sweet tooth even if I don't.
What do you think people? Please help me out here.
6 comments:
Monday as a work day is bad enough, let alone dealing with test results and transfusions. I think baking would keep you busy as well as give your Mum something to look forward to. Good idea you had there! Me, I like anything really chewy and dense so would go for brownies or gingerbread or molasses cookies. Hope you find a good distraction from Luke for the both of you!
I totally sympathise with you. I too am looking after an elderly mother - jokingly I call her the Half Deaf Three Quarters Blind Elderly Mother! But my life is now totally a compromise of my plans and desires to care for her. My three siblings are all married (I am single and work full time)nand live some distance away so its "me and me alone". I will be back to see what some of your other readers can suggest in the way of positivity and I will purloin their ideas for my use too:-)
I can understand where you are with this , let your brother have this time with your mum and during THAT time do something for YOU. Maybe give your self permission to be angry and express your grief, or have a pamper of some sort. THEN you will feel able to better deal with what is to come . It is not easy ... but it can be done xx Trust me ..I know x
Only go for baking if it's something you enjoy doing, otherwise it will add to your "I don't like Mondays" feeling. Other than that I'm not sure what to suggest.
Have you seen the jar of happiness thing that is going around? Get a jam jar and write little notes of good things to put in it , then take one out when you need a pick-me-up . Or you could put silly ideas of things to do in there.Find some old dolls at charity shops and dress them for charity or something else.
Hope you find something good for both of you to enjoy .x
Not sure I can suggest anything that will make Mondays seem better for you both...agree that if you like to bake then that would be a good thing to do...if not it would only add to the stress of the day....hope you can find something that will make the day a little better for you both.
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