Same Old Same Old

A longer than usual delay between updates--but more than enough going on in the debility and decline department. The menu includes at least one fall, ongoing doctors visits to deal with a non-healing wound, a hospital stay, drugs and more drugs.

 Jeannie's week-long hospitalization, with its incumbent separation between her and my dad was stressful enough; he actually missed her while she was gone (I did my best to prop him up: took him over to visit, then out to dinner once; another time I prepared dinner for him.)

On his own, my father managed fairly well. One time when I called he informed me that he'd been cleaning up the house and doing laundry. When visiting, I noted that the house was indeed fairly clean and the trash had been taken out. There was enough food in the fridge, even if my dad wasn't eating much.

Now that Jeannie is back home, still dealing with the same issues, routine annoyances have once again taken hold. If my father missed her before, I doubt he'd say that now. For one thing, he's been hit with a flareup of his chronic digestive problems: pain, nausea, lack of appetite. On Father's day, I called and he sounded vaguely reticent and weak, but wouldn't tell me what the problem was. No problem--Jeannie took the phone and proceeded to fill me in with the details.

"He won't level with you. I was telling him to be honest. The fact is he's been sick and says he doesn't feel like eating, so he didn't have dinner last night and I had to eat alone. And this morning, he still didn't feel well, so I had to eat by myself again! It's just rotten timing, being Father's day and all. I don't want to have to eat alone again."

I try to digest this, but can only focus on the utter selfishness, the complete lack of regard for anyone else's problems other than her own. His illness and pain, the fact that he felt too sick to eat, was not the concern: it was that she was put out and had to eat by herself for one day. In fairness, she did acknowledge that her own ongoing troubles may have been making her more upset about the situation.

Still, I held my tongue. Anything I could have said then (other than my usual palliative phrases) would cause further trouble. I'm trying to be politic and supportive, but my patience is running thin...it would be pure joy to just come out and tell her what a selfish, pathetic bitch she is. I wonder what would happen....