Writing in Snow

Seven Months into 2010

Word count: 531

The year is half over, there six months left in 2010. I took my car into the shop today; it is still there waiting for a part. The schedule for delivery is tomorrow about 10:00 AM and I should be able to get the car about noon. I will call before I go because I think I will take a cab to the mechanic’s shop.

I took a cab home today, which is unusual for me because usually I think the price of a cab is too high. However, after considering the triple digit temperatures, the fact that I had to change buses twice, and the distance I had to walk from the last bus stop to the house. I decided the cab was the better choice.

I did not have the cash on me to pay for the cab, so I used an ATM that was not a Bank of America ATM. The cost was $3.00 to withdraw $60.00, I am not sure if it was a wise choice or not. I arrived home feeling better then if I had taken the bus in this heat. I am considering taking a cab tomorrow when I pick up my car. True I could use the money to pay a bill, but as my mother’s caregiver, I have to consider my health, which is not very good.

Seven months into 2010, I have to admit that my health is not as good as I would like it to be. I have to make some changes in both diet and exercises, however, walking to and from the bus in triple digit temperatures is not good exercise for someone in my physical condition.

I have to build up to the seven or eight block walk to the bus. I also have to put on sunscreen before I start the walk. At 63, I am making choices I should have made twenty or thirty years ago. Sometimes it is better to spend money then to risk my health.

Looking back over the past few years, I can see times when I could have made better choices. It is amazing how my priorities have changed now that I have become my mother’s caregiver. In the next six months, I am going to have to make many changes.

Mom is different. She does not have the will power to do the things she used to enjoy doing. She wants to clean house, but never gets around to it. I am not sure whether the problem is the Alzheimer’s disease or the meds. Beside the Alzheimer’s medication, Mom is taking a med for depression. Mom no longer sits and cries, but she still does not do anything except sit on the couch or the love seat when she is not in bed. I have to make an appointment with her doctor and discuss this issue, but I doubt the doctor can do anything about it.

The year is half over; I have to reassess my situation. I am not sure what I going to happen over the next six months. I am sure about one thing, the next six months are going to be interesting, stressful and transforming.