i think after being around for these many years, and living alone i’ve learned a thing or two about STUFF. when the staff who are supposed to be helping me (who are much younger than i, so they don’t know) are doing a task not to my liking, i speak up. some people have gotten insulted, but i don’t mean it that way. i’m just old and have figured out the best, most streamlined way to do a task or the way i want it. it’s a little thing, and some caregivers thank me for figuring out a better way for doing something, but it occasionally causes friction.
like the dryer- i’ve learned enough that if the dryer isn’t drying properly to stop the dryer and redistribute the clothes, not put them away damp.
i’ve learned enough to get into the corners in the bottom of the coffee cups and scrub to get them clean.
i’ve learned enough that, to get around a corner, you push a wheelchair past an opening, then make the turn.
if every one of the caregivers waters my houseplants, they’ll be overwatered and die. it’s better to be judicious, than commit the more common sin of loving them to death by overwatering.
i’ve learned enough to know that when you’re sitting in a wheelchair, you’re always at fart height.
i’ve learned enough to know that coffee tastes different sipped through a straw. not awful per-se, just not satisfying. the same can be said picking up a sandwich with one hand.
it’s a little thing, but if a shoe is too tight or loose, you just lean down and re-tie. now i have to call someone over and convince them it has to be tied again, when from their perspective, it’s a done deal.
next time: creativity- then and now.