Light at the end of the tunnel?

I’m thinking tonight of when Lizard Breath got the chicken pox. She was a 5th grader at the time and though she didn’t have the worst case of chicken pox on record, it was not as easy as Mouse’s journey a few weeks earlier. Maybe 20-30 pox, a day of “playing” in the bathtub with various soothing agents (can’t even remember what) and then many schoolday bike rides and things with meeee, since she felt too good to be hanging around inside but couldn’t return to school yet. Liz, being a bit older, did not do quite as well. I started asking her if she could see the light at the end of the tunnel yet. For a while, nothing. Then a small beam. Eventually, she got to the “door”. She opened the door. I waited with bated breath as she slowly made her way out the door and then shut it behind her. And began locking it. The locking process seemed to take f-o-r-e-v-e-r but finally she threw away the key and we were finished with the dern chicken pox. (Disclaimer: I’m not totally sure if this actually happened with the chicken pox or some nasty but garden-variety virus that happened the same year.)

I have been in a kind of a tunnel the last couple (few?) weeks. It hasn’t been all that dark in there for the most part but I have not been able to see the light at the end. Today. I was working from LTC rehab. It was mid-morning and the OT goddess Alice had The Commander out on some long stair-climbing junket (yes) or whatever. Ponytail (that is what The Comm calls him, not his real name) was handing out a mid-morning snack and juice and included meeeeee. Suddenly a parade came into the room. Patients and nurses and therapists, etc. Whammo! Light! Alice and Vicky announced that The Comm would be ready in about a week to be discharged. She is doing too well to continue rehab at the long-term care facility. They are recommending assisted living at least temporarily and I agree with that recommendation and we have some gorgeous facilities around here where The Comm already has friends… Not exactly sure when “about a week” will actually happen. There are many variables to process and “about a week” could mean almost anything in hospital-type terms. Been there done that. Ever been incarcerated at the HF Hoosegow? Er, Grandroobly was, not me, but I drove down there from The Planet Ann Arbor every day.

So. Deluge? Yes. I went down to Command Central tonight to drop off clean laundry and everyone was very concerned about my well-being traveling around in the rain. It’s just rain! No lightning or whatever. I dropped off the laundry and said good night and Mona (I can’t describe her, she has to be experienced!) asked me for the second night in a row if I had my keys. No. They were on the floor. I think I will start dropping my keys on purpose from now on just to give Mona a chance to point out my error! She is a kick! (as Radical Betty would’ve said.) Of course then I started for home and I turned down one street that had such a big puddle lake that I backed my loverly little Ninja outta there and went the other way.

And speaking of Radical Betty, I love when my iPhone rings from Radical Betty’s cell phone. I know that it isn’t her but one of my fav-o-rite pictures of her shows up. She is walking the beach in mid-summer wearing a winter jacket and glubs. I still remember her saying, “We just get a little *box* of summer!” Of course, it was the mean old grunchie old Grinchie and we’re gonna meet for breakfast tomorrow. And then the goddess Esther called from New York. I have not been good at keeping her up to date on The Comm’s progress. They are the best of friends and her son was my first boyfriend. We were six. I remember Fran and Esther sitting around in the moomincabin on a cold, windy day discussing (with the help of the Joy of Cooking) how to cut up a cow.

I am rambling. Good night,
KW

P.S. Is fish happening at the Cozy Inn tomorrow night? Email me…

One Response to “Light at the end of the tunnel?”

  1. Margaret Says:

    I’m thinking that your mom is an amazing, strong and determined woman who is back on the path to good health and strength. Yay for that! As for you, you better be taking care of yourself too, KW. I mean that! End of lecture.