I finished moving my brother into an assisted living facility today. He had a stroke last year, and even though things were looking good, another smaller stroke left him too weak to care for himself.
I’ve been trying to look after him, my older sibling, but he can be difficult for most, especially so for me. He demands his independence and takes it out on those near him. When he can’t contact me everyone we know suffers by being called or emailed incessantly.
Tonight he is two hours away, too far for me too make a snack run for him of cashews and goldfish crackers.
I don’t worry about him. He has moved into a veritable spa. Food anytime, help, events and music. Friendly people to listen, there if he needs them. He can take his personal items that remind him of his life to that point. So many folks don’t get that lucky. I hope he understands that.
As far as lucky goes, this brings to focus how lucky I am to still be able to do the things I’ve taken for granted, what he can no longer do. So many things come to mind but above all I’m lucky I can walk down the dock, untie the lines and slip Ava off her moorage. Quietly we can slip out into the bay and pick a course. Drift upriver to anchor, quiet and alone for the night. We could set the mainsail and head offshore, lifted up and down by the swells drifting in from a low pressure system North of Hawaii.
I can only hope I never take this freedom for granted. I hope I have the self control to make it a reality.
To all those thinking of an adventure, do it now.
I leave you with this.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
Mark Twain.
I’ve been trying to look after him, my older sibling, but he can be difficult for most, especially so for me. He demands his independence and takes it out on those near him. When he can’t contact me everyone we know suffers by being called or emailed incessantly.
Tonight he is two hours away, too far for me too make a snack run for him of cashews and goldfish crackers.
I don’t worry about him. He has moved into a veritable spa. Food anytime, help, events and music. Friendly people to listen, there if he needs them. He can take his personal items that remind him of his life to that point. So many folks don’t get that lucky. I hope he understands that.
As far as lucky goes, this brings to focus how lucky I am to still be able to do the things I’ve taken for granted, what he can no longer do. So many things come to mind but above all I’m lucky I can walk down the dock, untie the lines and slip Ava off her moorage. Quietly we can slip out into the bay and pick a course. Drift upriver to anchor, quiet and alone for the night. We could set the mainsail and head offshore, lifted up and down by the swells drifting in from a low pressure system North of Hawaii.
I can only hope I never take this freedom for granted. I hope I have the self control to make it a reality.
To all those thinking of an adventure, do it now.
I leave you with this.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
Mark Twain.
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