Tethered?

I'm writing this post on Sunday but will let it go live on Monday morning. I'm off to a busy work day and probably won't feel much like writing when I get home. Today (Sunday) has been stressful but could have been a lot worse. Dad could have wound up hospitalized with pneumonia and Mom could have fractured her hip. Neither of these untoward events happened and so I breathe a sigh of relief despite the fact that today was NO FUN.

The day started with a phone call from the caregiver; Dad was unable to swallow and complained of a severe sore throat. He's been under the weather all week anyway and I've been expecting things to turn bad at any moment. We journeyed into the E.R. to have things checked out and thankfully, there were no serious issues going on. We left with a couple of prescriptions and I think he is on the mend. He looked pretty chipper later in the day when I was summoned back to the home, this time to evaluate Mom.

The caregiver called late in the afternoon because Mom had taken a fall in her room. Dad was witness to the fall and says she stumbled, lost her balance, and landed between their two walkers. Oh my. This is the fourth fall in a year; one resulted in a fractured hip (last October) and the other three were "just" big shake-ups, including today. I checked her over; she's walking OK but has a sore back and I know she'll feel stiff tomorrow. When she falls she talks about the feeling of being out of control; knowing that she going down but unable to do anything about it. She's as much mentally bruised as physically bruised, I suspect. Two ibuprofen and a glass of water was about all I could suggest although Dad did ask me to spend the night there. I told him I didn't think it necessary (hope I'm right about that) since there are 24/7 caregivers on site.

For something significant to happen to each within the same day is a new twist. The odd thing is that all this happens on the day I've spent hours on the computer researching flights and hotel accommodations for an early November trip for two to Florence. Does the synchronicity of Mom and Dad experiencing medical issues today coupled with my nascent plans to leave them behind for 10 days and travel across the Atlantic mean anything? Am I tethered here just waiting for the other shoe to drop? Or, does it mean that shit just happens, unexpectedly and without pattern while we move ahead with the flow of our lives? I'd rather believe the latter. Mom and Dad would want me to go; Mom has said so half a dozen times since Laura left for Europe.

"Go. Go and see your dear daughter and make sure she is safe."

OK, I will.

Photos taken the day or two before Laura left for Europa.