Category Archives: Parents

I’m weary.
To the bone.
Which makes me grumpy.
And it’s starting to affect everything around me.

I’ve been taking care of two homes: my own and my parents’. I clean and shop and run errands for both. And it’s taking a toll.

I’m really not complaining – it’s more like wishing for time I don’t have.

My moment came on my latest trip to the ‘rents. As my dad can’t drive yet, he’s been unable to make his weekly trip to the dump, which means that I’m on garbage patrol. Since he used to go every week, he would simply take the bag out of the kitchen container and be on his way.

I knew the last time I was there that I should have taken the garbage, even though it wasn’t full. But I think my parents feel like they don’t want to burden me if they don’t have to, so I was shooed away. And it’s been hot here, really hot. So, take a full bag of garbage that had to be put in the garage unattended and imagine what can be created by nature. I almost titled this post “The Maggots,” but I didn’t think anyone would read it.

In that moment, I realized that I, and only I, had to take care of this situation: No calling for help, no feeling sorry for myself, no burying my head in my hands. Just get it done because there is no one else.

That’s what I have to do right now. Shift that weary, grumpy attitude into doing one task at a time. Book idea? One Task at a Time: a 12-step program for caring for elderly parents. Someone else will have to write it though… I’ve got stuff to do.

:::

OM is *one moment* and is a meetup designed to notice & relish a moment in everyday life. The meetup idea was created by Linda at her blog, a la mode stuff.

If you’d like to participate in OM, just click the button and you’ll be taken to Linda’s post explaining it all.