Thursday, August 30, 2012

Adjustments


I have really become aware of all the adjustments we are making as our lives are changing.  They have been happening all along, but I guess I have just recently become really aware of them.

My husband is beginning to lose his hearing.  More and more I have to repeat things to him and tell him things that other people say that he does not understand.  Many times he will ask me what is being said on the news or a tv show that we are watching.  I really don’t mind repeating things to him as he is so patient and helpful with my problems.  This hearing loss is a minor thing to deal with for me as he deals with so much in my life and never complains.

I have noticed that when I walk up behind him I put my hand on his back to let him know I am there.  This is so he won’t turn and accidently bump into me and possibly make me fall.  Not only do I not want to fall but I don’t want him to feel guilty for causing it.

When I walk through the house, there are things I watch out for that I would not have even noticed in years past.  The different rooms in our house have different types of flooring.  Each room has a piece of edging or trim to join to the next room.  Although they are not sticking up or seem like a major obstacle to most people, I step over them carefully so as not to trip.  Something that is nothing to the average person is a hurdle that I have to be careful of or end up tripping and falling.

Another thing is answering the phone.  Years ago, if the phone rang, I would just jump up and answer it.  Now, I have to get up carefully, make sure I am steady, and try to get to it before the answering machine kicks in.  If I am not near enough to it to do so, I just have to call the person back.  Sometimes I have to do this with the cell phone also.  Often when it rings, my fingers and brain are not on speaking terms and I cannot seem to get coordinated enough to hit the answer space.  Thus, voicemail kicks in.  It is frustrating, but another one of those adjustment areas that have to be dealt with.

The stairs, of course, are a biggie.  Running up and down the stairs are a thing of the past.  I never go up or down them alone anymore.  My husband stands behind me when I go up and in front of me when I come down them.  I come down them each morning and go back up them each night.  I have learned to try and have what I need from upstairs to bring down with me each morning because I will not be going up them again until night.  I do not want to have to ask my husband to run up and down them all day for some little something I want and forgot to bring down that morning.

Blogging is another adjustment I am learning to deal with.  Not the blog itself……I love writing this blog.  But when I have an idea for one, I have to get to a piece of paper and write it down immediately or it is gone from my brain.  There is no such thing as I will jot that idea down later, because later it will be gone.

In the past I would rearrange the furniture several times a year.  That is now a no-no.  Things are where they need to be in order for me to have “crutches” along my paths through the house.  If things were moved very much, I would have open spaces that would cause me great stress to walk through.  I am sure that most of the time I would be OK with a small open space, but the thought of it gives me so much anxiety that I do not want to risk it.

I am sure that all of you have many things you could add to this list.  I have more, but you get the idea of what I am saying.  I wish our lives could be more stable and all these little things did not make a big thing, but it does and we have to learn to live with it.  I know that the saying that problems dealt with makes a person stronger and I am really beginning to believe that………….so……..here’s to all you really strong people………..keep hanging in there and we will all make it in this war together!!!

 

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