Looks like it's going to be a low key day,
today. Mom spent a lot of yesterday in bed. It was hard to make sure she had enough food to ameliorate the effects of her diabetic medications. Sometimes it's nice to have lower doses on hand.
    We have a slew of movies from a friend, some of which I think she'll enjoy seeing, some of which she'll talk through, probably.
    Her taste in movies used to be strictly animated Disney stories, historical epics and musicals from the era of the 60's and a bit later: The Ten Commandments, How the West Was Won, On A Clear Day You Can See Forever (she loves the movie, even though she hates Barbra Streisand, whom I love), I think she even sat through several showings of Khartoum, on behalf of my father. Her hearing doesn't help, either; background noise on a soundtrack is a deal breaker, as well as background noise in our environment.
    Her choices aren't those of the market, right now, and, from simple over exposure to me and my tastes, she's widened her interests. A few months ago I watched a delightful Dutch film, with subtitles, one of my mother's all time peeves along with "English Accents" (which means any accent other than Middle American English), Antonia's Line. Although I wasn't sure, I had a hunch my mother would get into it, so I taped it and played it for her. She loved it. She surprised me, as well, by observing that Dutch, when subtitled, is easy for an English speaking person to understand, and it is, even a hearing impaired person.
    She also surprised me by finding Chocolat boring. I even tried this one on her twice, hoping she wouldn't remember her first viewing and maybe that one had been on one of her "bad" days. I don't know if she remembered it but she reacted in exactly the same way. I think park of the problem may have been the narration. She does a lot of lip reading when she listens, and narration, I think, may be a bit of a problem, as well as women's voices; and, Chocolat is narrated by a woman's voice.
    Today we've got an interesting line-up, including a cartoonish action movie that I want to slather over: X-Men; an old movie that I don't think my mother's seen but I think she'll like: Dirty Dancing (she liked Flashdance and loves Strictly Ballroom; I think, by definition she loves all dance movies); one sex-thriller: Unfaithful, she may or may not watch this one, I just want to see the arousal scene for the fourth time; one hetero-thriller: Changing Lanes; one with Vin Diesel, John Malkovich and Dennis Hopper that I know nothing about: Knockaround Guys, but it looks like it contains some gratuitous violence so Mom may doze during this one.
    Tonight, I think, we'll do some reading out loud. Years ago, when she and my father lived in the same vicinity, I would come over a couple of times a week and we'd read books aloud to each other and discuss them. When I moved in with her in December, 1993, we renewed the tradition. It became apparent, though, that she no longer enjoyed the reading out loud part, so I began to read out loud exclusively. Although we don't read every night, we do frequently; it survives fallow periods.
    We've read some great books; all kinds, fiction and non-fiction. In My Father's House by, I believe, Dorothy Sullivan; a memoir of life as a child in a polygamous Mormon household; No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin, need I say more?; and some pretty light weight entertainment. We're making our way through the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, now. They are fun and thoughtful, for both of us. Last week, though, while watching Oprah she saw the show about the "new" book club and decided she wants to read East of Eden. For me it will be a second reading, probably for her, too, although she can't remember. It looks pretty ambitious for her attention span, but I anticipate, as always, being surprised by her.
    I may do a little site updating, today; it looks as though it's going to be a slow, in-home, no company day; maybe wash day. I've decided to use excerpts from email letters I've written people throughout these years to establish an informal history of both my experience of caretaking and my mother's years in The Country of the Ancient. It will be an ongoing project.
    I hear my mother rummaging. A good sign, this early in the day. Maybe it won't matter that she had oxygen only half the night last night. I had been distracted by engaging company and forgot to set her up. She's breathing evenly, though, not through her mouth, and had a breathing treatment last night, so she may be a little slow to consciousness, but I think she'll be okay, at least until nap time...time to make coffee, or, maybe Earl Gray Tea, this morning...I'll ask her...
- posted by gail rae @ 09:21   email...this post