Saturday 18 August 2007

Dark Days


Et in Arcadia ego, indeed! A stark reminder of our mortality has intervened with Mum's illness. A visit to the out-of-hours GP on Saturday 4th led to immediate admission to the Emergency Assessment Unit at the hospital and an eleven-day stay in the Acute Medical Ward. She was discharged on Wednesday, but is still very weak and having to spend her days in bed.

The worst times for me when she was in the hospital were quiet times at home, doing routine jobs. The solitude became very oppressive. Standing at the kitchen sink, looking out of the window at nature going about its business, I wanted to call to her. Knowing she wasn't there, I found my eyes filling with involuntary tears.

Anyway, she's back home now and we can try to pick up the threads of daily life again - with a heightened appreciation of the value of the shortness of the time we have together.

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