The garden, mother and me

Page 14 Hark the sound of Christmas calling, And mothers going deaf. Mother s legs are quite good today so we are going shopping. The normal routine check the cupboards for anything she has forgotten, make sure mother has everything purse shopping list etc., put the walker ready to get her down the steps and we are off. “Watch that car pulling out” yes mother “Mind the crossing, that lady might walk out” yes mother “Are you indicating to turn” yes mother. “I really have to keep an eye on your driving” whatever I do I cannot stop mother being a front seat driver. Round the supermarket we go, mother pushing the trolley, me fetching and carrying. One of the shop assistance stopped for a chat with mother. Afterwards mother turned to me… “What was she saying, she talks so quietly I could hardly hear her” I explained the conversation, but it got me thinking. Mother is always accusing me of saying things that I haven’t, or getting things mixed up. I had ...

Page 13 I float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. (Muhammad Ali) Branches pack a punch as well. Mothers’ foot improved by the end of the week so I decided to carry on clearing out the hedge row and ditch. “I am going out to clear some more of the hedge row mother” best to let her know where I am. “Take your phone with you, I can’t always see where you are” “I do wear a bright coloured top so I can be seen mother” (I do wear a bright yellow top so if I have to call for help I can say, so and so field look for a yellow object, that’s me) “If you have your phone I can check on you” can’t argue with that. Down the field I went, I took one look at the mess in the ditch and nearly turned round.  I could not walk down the gap between the hedgerow and the stock fence, which is approximately four feet wide, because of brambles, fallen trees and branches. Oh well faint heart never won and all that, let’s get started. I hacked at the brambles with t...

Page 12 It goes without saying Mother always listens to a man Ever since the last shopping trip, mothers foot has been hurting. Mother thinks she has a bunion from walking too much, I say she should go to the doctors. “If your foot is still hurting you should go to the doctors” I suggest. “No it will go, it’s only because I walked too much. It’s made my bunion hurt” Mother will not go to the doctors unless she is made to, which is totally frustrating as now she is compromising her walking. Mother is not very good mobility wise and now she is at more risk of falls. “The podiatrist comes soon I will ask what they think” and that is how the situation with her foot had to be left. For the next couple of days I did as much as I could for mother, so she did as little walking as possible. Her foot remained painful but she was adamant that the doctor was not needed. The podiatrist came on a day that I wasn’t at mothers so when I went to see her the day after ...

Page 11 A penny saved is a penny earned. So true in so many ways A few days after clearing the brambles, I decided to walk round the perimeter of the field to see how the fences were holding up. The farmer who uses the field does a good job on the hedges and mowing, but we can’t expect him to do everything. “I see the ditch on the top boundary needs clearing and there are fallen trees, along that hedge row as well” I informed mother when I returned to the house. “Has the stock fence been damaged” mother asked. “No, but the one tree has fallen across the fence and needs clearing desperately. I’ll get some tools together and make a start” (I am so practical, or it’s any excuse to demolish something) “You cannot manage that by yourself, its hard work clearing trees and what will you do with the wood. I will have to get someone in” (mother is of again. Yes it is hard work but nothing I haven’t done before and it needs doing.) “Mother I will clear that hedge...

Page 10 The end justifies the means. Maybe she will agree to use her walker more often . We are of shopping today, mother has done the shopping list and I have checked the cupboards to make sure she hasn’t forgotten anything.  I always think of shopping day as organised chaos. Mother comes to the front door where the walker is ready and waiting, I hold the handbag and of we go. With mother safely in the car the walker put in the boot, we head for the super market. “Can we go to the clothes shop first, I need some jumpers” asks mother. “Of course, do you want to use the shops wheelchair?” “No I don’t, we have my walking stick that will do” (ooops mother didn’t like that) At the clothes shop, mother walked round for a while looking at the jumpers. I kept fetching similar ones for her to look at, trying to save on the walking. ”It’s no good I can’t walk any more” mother was exhausted “why do they make these shops so big, it’s ridiculous” Poor mot...