for an adventure.
for a few years at the most.
next year i will have lived in Canada for as long as i lived in England.
this week great nanny noo noo, as her great grandchildren have christened her, returned to england after her six week's visit. she will come back in september. at 85 she is still going strong and only slows down slightly. a new baby is coming in april so now she has a focus for returning again. i really believe that's what keeps her going.
me and great nanny noo noo on christmas day.
my own dad turned 87 in january. i see him once a year when i go to england. he lives in a nursing home now since he broke his hip a few years ago and lost his mobility. as a contrast to great nanny noo noo his life is without very much focus. he exists in that time warp that comes sometimes with old age and the monotony of the unstimulated life in a nursing home.
yesterday my sister called to tell me that he has had a stroke. we suspected this when we learned about his choking incidents and tests on his gag reflex confirmed it.
what will happen now? if he continues to eat pureed food he could ingest it into his lungs and may develop a deadly chest infection. the alternative, should the docs think he is a good candidate, which doesn't seem likely due to his age and fragile body, is tube feeding. what kind of a life is that where you never taste food again? one of the few pleasures left to an old man. who makes that decision? he doesn't really understand all of it now.
me and dad on my wedding day. :-)
one of the hardest things about living in another country is watching your relatives get old and realizing how helpless you are. the ramifications of the decision i made so easily all those years ago now makes me accountable.
my friend helen's blog has been dormant for a week or three. she is having computer problems but she will be back, i'm sure.
i had a funny email from esther the other day.
Hi Clippy Mat,
I just wanted to thank you for helping me get the best possible seat for my husband on Southwest. I had to check in online for him. I had to make sure that I clicked on the button at exactly 10.20 this morning. BUT, as my husband has a thing about keeping all the clocks in our house at different times (don't ask me why - he assures me there's good reason) I was worried about not clicking at the right moment. Then I suddenly remembered the clock on your blog. As your clock struck 10.20 I clicked 'check in'. And low and behold, I got him the lowest number he has ever had - A17 (the first 15 are sold so number 2 I suppose).
Maybe that would be a good way to get even more visitors to your blog - market it as a useful online check in aid.
Thank you! Have a good weekend.
Esther
isn't that great? my blog is a public servant (!) and i am only happy to help you all out with airline reservations.
it's the least i can do.
over on life with our lads pam gave birth to a new lad, danny. it's so nice to be able to share in other people's good news this way. that's one of the nicest things about blogging isn't it?
and, over on stinking billy not such good news. for reasons undisclosed billy has decided to call it a day after 400 posts. i for one will miss his point of view which is always interesting and the variety of topics he covered.
bye for now billy.
it looks like i might be in england in march for 2 weeks so i would love to meet up with any local bloggers in the north east if we can arrange a mutually convenient rendezvous. let me know if you're up for it.
