Chores of Love

Tonight I was over at Mom and Dad's for a brief visit. I find it difficult to stay for very long; there seems little to say and I find myself prattling on about the same things. I reminded Dad again tonight that we're leaving on Thursday this week for ten days in Florence. "You know that, right Dad?", I asked. "Yep." and a smile. With his partial plate out of his mouth he has a pumpkin grin with missing teeth in front. Sweet. He's always been OK with us laughing about that.

He is so frail. He's coughing a lot and no longer able to walk. He gets from chair to wheelchair with assistance. This has all happened in less than a month. He knows it and we know it; the end is coming.

I spent a half hour filling pillboxes with medications for the next month for both Mom and Dad. I sat in their room, balancing medi-sets on my lap and filling the AM/noon/PM slots with their respective prescriptions. I had to wonder if this would be the last time I'd be filling my Dad's boxes of meds. He has one large pink pill that smells wonderful. Most pills have no smell at all (they often taste bad) but this one smells like a cross between fruit and candy. I always take a good big whiff out of the bottle just because. OK, I'm weird.

Before I left, I asked Dad what he'd like me to fix for him before I left for Florence. I gave him some options but wasn't a bit surprised when he shook his head with an enthusiastic "YES" for the oldest recipe in the family archives; dried beef gravy served over boiled potatoes. Now if that isn't an old depression era recipe, I don't know what is. Inexpensive, tasty, filling and one of those meals that gets better when it sits in the refrigerator for awhile. So, I made it tonight, added lots of frozen peas (he loves those and they give the gravy a wonderful color) and will boil the potatoes tomorrow. I'm glad the adult family home is OK with me bringing in different food for them to eat. When there isn't much that brings joy, eating familiar comfort food that they've enjoyed for decades seems like a good choice. Mom says she pulled this recipe out of her head back in the days when she could barely afford to buy ingredients for a meal. It is pretty tasty, I must say.

The days wind down and it'll soon be time to say goodbye to them; a big hug, a kiss, and a prayer that I'll see them again on my return. One never knows what lies ahead. "It is nature, Kate", I've been told, "and you just have to accept it." I do accept it. But it's still difficult to let go and surrender to the plans of universe, whatever those may be.