Lockdown Diary - Sunday 11th April 2021

I heard the first carer arrive this morning but didn't feel like getting up, I was both tired and in pain, so I decided to stay put.  I heard her leave but was drifting back to sleep, next thing I knew it was ten to 9 and my next dose of painkillers were overdue, and man could I feel it.  I got up and took the next dose of drugs and went downstairs to be ready for the arrival of the main morning carers.

I've decided I'm not going to document the ins and outs of my recovery in detail here, unless anything dramatic occurs (which is hopefully exceedingly unlikely), as most of it is incredibly boring. Suffice it to say there will be pain but I will be taking it easy, and I will be lying down a lot, either reading, listening to music with my eyes shut or something.

Mid-afternoon, during a period of lying down, my mother-in-law (MIL) phoned to see how I was doing post-operation and also for our weekly chat.  We chatted about this and that for over an hour, including our customary exploration of life when my wife was dealing with the early effects of MS. My MIL has latterly become one of my biggest fans, after years in the wilderness (as in me being cast out), and has come to appreciate how tough it was for me back in the days when MS was starting to make inroads into my wife's life and independence, and acknowledges that many men would have walked out. Not that I am anything special, it's just not who I am. She's also appreciative of the fact that I remember her birthday, mother's day etc, and try to get cards and presents that she likes and that my wife would have chosen. There are things we'll never see eye to eye on, but we have found a peace and a relationship that works.  Every week she tells me that I'm almost the only person she has a proper conversation with.

I am a popular man - my father-in-law has just phoned to see how I am doing, which gives me a chance to see how he's doing after the death of his wife.  He's able to tell me that he's still grieving (which never goes away completely) but is coping better.  The fact that we can talk about it without him breaking down is a step forward.

Son #2 emerges in the afternoon and I have to get him to do the washing that I'd normally do. Once the first load is on he makes lunch which I eat whilst reading the papers.

Later I listen to more music - the new albums from Jane Weaver and Dry Cleaning, both of which are rather good, before returning downstairs starting to watch some of the backlog of music documentaries I've recorded.

Another late dinner as son #3 is out with his gf and doesn't return home until 9 p.m., or thereabouts.  As it's so late, which is becoming the norm, we watch an episode of 'WILTY', which is brief and doesn't require that much mental engagement.

After that drugs, bed and sleep.

Moon Duo / 'In a Cloud' / 'Shadow Of The Sun'

[[J'ai perdu contact avec un ami, ce qui me rend triste.]]

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