bobbing along
"When the red, red robin comes bob. bob. bobbing along, along" says an old song I once used to sing. That is how I feel this week. Do this, bob bob, do that, bob bob. Just going from one job to another, not much time to rest in between. Autumn (fall) is that time when you clean up the outside of the house, clear up the inside of the house, pack things away, put things right. It is a busy time.
On Monday the tilers came and tiled the shower room. They were here most of the day tracking in mud and clay and builders' sand. They whistled and sang along to their radio. They were young and noisy and just happy to be working on a little job that would not take all day, they said. I can understand that, in a week with a four day break at the end of it it is good if you can finish work early one day to do banking and other small errands that need doing. It is the way Ray would have felt when he was working.
Today we went to Tori's school to Grandparents Day. This has largely replaced the morning when parents went to school to look at your work, that is in the evening time now. Grandparents do not always work and so are available through the day so this morning at 10am there was a sea of grey hair and wrinkled faces and spectacled eyes and happy smiles waiting to be entertained. The kids put on the usual recorder band, junior choir, senior dance troupe performance ( I did think of you Dave) and the deputy principal handed out some awards and the Kindies wriggles and got the stern look and the pointed finger from their teacher. I did hear her hiss; "Tori, sit down." once as Tori turned once again to give us a beaming smile.
The school is built into the side of the hill and not even a bit wheelchair friendly so I did have some difficulty with it all. Tori wanted to go down to the oval to show us the swings and gym equipment so I wheeled Ray down and another grandfather helped me push him up again. Her classroom is nowhere near the ramped area but by taking the ramp and circumnavigating a couple of buildings we got there in the end. The eight steps down into the sunken classroom I did manage to haul Ray down and then up. And all the time our grand daughter glowed like a glow worm with the glory of having her Granma and Pa on show. So it was worth all the difficulties we overcame to get there.
The DP in his speech said his grandparents gave him the strength to face the difficulties in his life. He had an invalid father but a strong grandfather and a stronger grandmother. He said he spent a lot of time with his grandparents and learned a lot about rural life and the district in which he lived from them. For those of you who are actively involved with grandchildren his accollade is for you too, as he said he would not have grown into a well-rounded human being without their imput.
This afternoon was craft group so we had just twenty minutes at home to have some lunch. Then off we went again. Ray has some scrambled eggs on toast, a real quickie meal in the microwave and the handful of herbs used for flavouring came from the pots outside the door.
We left craft group early to go to the physio, the appointment postponed from this morning. There Ray was shown how to use the stationary bike by sitting behind it and using the pedals. This will help his hip flexors rebuild. He broke into a sweat after three or four minutes so it might take a while for him to build up to twenty minutes a day! The physio is determined he will improve his walking to the stage where he is no longer in danger of falling. He is young and enthusiastic and I hope he can gradually retrain Ray to walk in a way that will be more safe. It is a real relief that someone has some new ideas in that direction. And so far Ray is listening to him.
Tonight is our Lions meeting. I met up with one of the Lions ladies through the week and she told me in detail of the many illnesses the older members are suffering from. Goodness me! And yet they are a cheerful bunch and put in many hours each week collectively helping our community. Most are in their 70s or 80s so could if they wanted just retire to a rocking chair, but they are from a generation when helping out in the community was a thing to be admired. Ray, as a person who has had five strokes, is among the disabled members but still likes to do what he can to help. So we will once again be selling raffle tickets shortly. Might as well do it while we are still able.
Tomorrow will be easier as I come on here in the morning and talk to some of you in chat . And then I will tackle some of the inside jobs in the afternoon as there is rain predicted. We are getting some moisture at last though the rain is mostly light rather than the steady rain we really need. But there is always plenty of housework, more than enough to keep me busy. And if I have any extra time I will cook some meals for the freezer too.
Thursday is shopping etc, my normal Friday routine, Friday is Good Friday. Another busy week, but at least at the end of it I should be able to look back and say I have accomplished something.
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