Back in July in a previous Caregiver's Diary entry, I talked about the hurdles that crop up from time to time that you have no choice but to deal with, things that happen to everyone in life but which can be a bit more challenging when you're also caring for someone full time.
To quickly recap: We had the monstrous crawlspace project that took about a month starting in mid-May and ending in mid-June (final inspection is pending due to a paperwork issue and a dispute between contractors over who is supposed to handle it). Then Mom had numerous doctor's appointments over the summer including a few that were unexpected due to a foot/leg issue that developed (which, thank the good Lord, appears to have healed).
Then there was the COVID monster, which got me and my sister in early August while she was here staying for a spell to help us out with some things.
READ MORE-->> Caregiver's Diary Part 13: Life Comes at You Fast
Thankfully, she and I are both better but are dealing with some lingering post-COVID side effects. She's still tiring pretty easily and coughing occasionally. I'm battling fatigue and also have a pesky lingering cough. Both are annoying but the fatigue is especially frustrating because it just takes everything out of you and makes you not want to do anything but sit around.
And sitting around all the time is not good for anyone, and when you're a caregiver it's honestly not an option.
So while we seem to have cleared most of summer's hurdles, there have been the hiccups that have cropped up. Hiccups are different than hurdles because hurdles are sometimes hard to jump while hiccups are minor irritants that soon clear up if you just have a little patience.
Unfortunately, patience is something that is in short supply for yours truly, as I was reminded earlier this week when not one but two very inconvenient hiccups developed within hours of each other.
First, there was the hall bathroom toilet seat lid (not the seat, just the lid), which decided it wanted to break loose. Because I had this happen to an older toilet at my previous home, my plan of action was to get the parts needed to fix the broken spot, which would have cost just a few dollars and would not have required me to remove the whole seat and replace it.
As with so many things in life, it was of course not that simple. A few hours later, the other side of the lid (not the seat) also broke off. To top it off, I couldn't find the exact parts I needed for the fix. So we were left with a toilet seat with no lid, which some people might be okay with since the functionality of the toilet seat is still good but I'm not.
The good news is that I had a new "easy install" toilet seat that I had gotten a couple of weeks ago for an upgrade project I was going to do in the master bathroom. The bad news is that instead of changing out a toilet seat at my leisure the urgency just went up a few notches to get it done in the other bathroom, which is the more used of the two bathrooms, as it is the one guests also use when they are here.
To top things off, that same evening I had to go to the car for a few minutes just as it was getting dark. We normally turn on our outside lights at night for added security. What did I notice when I did that? One of the floodlights is out. And not just any flood light. It's the floodlight at the corner of the house where the sloping ground is most unlevel, where I would not feel comfortable using a ladder.
Thankfully, I was able to find a tool that I hope will work for me changing it out without having to call someone in to do it, but it just adds something else to my ever-growing to-do list.
But, like the toilet seat, it will get done, and eventually these hiccups, too, will pass, soon to be replaced with others, no doubt...
BTW, mom's 81st birthday is in a few days, and we'll be holding a party for her tomorrow at my sister's house. Despite everything else going on, I feel incredibly blessed to be her daughter and to be able to take care of her. Love you, Mama T.
SEE ALSO: To read my previous Caregiver's Diary entries, please click here.
