Distracted

Finding Time

I’ve weirdly worked out the best sweet spot for blogging these days. As I’m always too busy to sit in any cafe let alone my favourite cafe in Clifton Hill. Actually, it’s in North Fitzroy. I still get to that cafe every Wednesday as my weekly Chiropractor appointment is very close to there now. However, stopping all the busyness long enough to type some words that tell a story and make sense; to share a lesson or learning, without being distracted.

Impossible! And I’m too easily distracted. Always something I want or need to do that isn’t typing words on a keyboard into an email I’m always drafting. I’ve now been in my forever home a whole year. Can you believe it? The 13th of November was the anniversary, a few months ago I would have said the perfect day/time of the week to sit and blog would be after getting home from physio, with a coffee by my side sitting at my dining table. Music in the background. However, while I should be fanging it home on hellonwheels after a kip at Physio, I would have had enough rest to not want to come home and go to sleep again and miss the perfect time I don’t need to do all the chores one-handed, cook dinner, bring in washing, maybe hand clothes on racks inside, etc, etc. So, it is to say, I’m as per usual behind.

Behind on the Adulting, behind on the responsibilities and the last fifteen plus years of trying to live well with disabilities, trying to maintain some parts of Original Helen and carve out a vision of Future Helen is catching up on me.

Comedy

You have all heard comedy is the best medicine. Well, it’s probably not going to cure cancer or get my Pap Smear done. But however, I’m just suggesting laughing is better than crying.

Patch Adams

I will record comedy on late night TV on my Toppy (Topfield) and these days as my kitchen, lounge and dining area is all in one. I will put on some comedy while I cook, for company. A young Aussie comedian is talking about how hard it is to get a fitted sheet on a bed. So,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWc2tpYRx48

In the last place I lived I had three bedrooms; I know rich right! No, it was a dump, it was hot and the landlord was a creep. But it allowed me to have a study and a spare room with a single bed for when friends or family stayed over.

The sheet changing day, I would have my morning carer take the sheets off, so I could get them in the machine, then on the line. I would usually get out clean sheets and put them on the bed so my next carer could just get stuck in. Mostly. This particular day I had gotten distracted, didn’t get them out. My next carer arrived, no sheets. She asked which colour I wanted and I suggested she choose. Honestly, I am in my ‘Oh white sheets place, I get it now’ faze and the other set I have is say a French Chocolate-grey. (Yes! I’m that chick)

Now, also whatever sheet is in the washing machine, the other goes on the bed. Two weeks on, two weeks off. I wear pyjamas, so it’s not an eeeww moment. I told her to pick.

She called to me from the bedroom to the lounge several times and not waiting to be distracted, I suggested she choose.

I thought I was empowering her to be independent. I’m like so, made to be a mum, right? This carer is still my regular and I really love her. She is often mistaken as my daughter, but that’s another story.

Eventually, she came to me with a barrage of questions and I put what I was doing aside and went with her to the bedroom. I got to the door and stopped.

“Are you sure these are for this bed?” she asked me.

The sheets were light purple, they went on the single bed. Oh, sweet Jesus! I just laughed.

I told her I was laughing with her, not at her and she informed me how hard it had been to get it on the bed.

But she didn’t find it as funny as I had. I suggested I wouldn’t do it to her again, however I did ask if she struggled again, could she come get me so I could watch.

I call this carer my Girl Friday and these days she is also my Girl Wednesday and once a month, my Girl Tuesday. We laugh a lot as we had built up the rapport to do that which is nice.