Monday, January 12, 2015

Purple Umbrella


I live in a small house but on rainy days like today, when the sky is flinty and glowering, the light inside my home glows warmly, and I could not be happier to have made the transition to working from home. It would be nice to live in an expansive HGTV space but the truth is, we have everything we need here, with lots of big windows that look out at trees and let the light in even on gray days like today.

My son made it home well after midnight last night, safe and sound driving with his friends from the icy north, and my daughter is on the train home as I write. My husband is in good spirits, his humor lively and eyes dancing, and life is mostly good. My only concerns are my mother, whose dementia is deepening, and my brother, who wrenched his back and is still struggling with that. I worry for him. I know what it is like to calculate how you move in space so as not to provoke a spike of pain. I rather enjoyed watching him skip up and down the stairs in his home with no thought whatsoever as to how to place his body. I loved that one of us could do that. Hopefully he will be back to himself soon enough. I know he won't ignore this injury for a year, as I did with my gimpy left leg, allowing pain to become chronic. He is fit and eats healthily and plays squash so he's also starting out ahead of where I was in the healing.

Our exchange on Whats App last night:

How was Mom today and how is your back now?

Confused and still giving trouble.

Mom is confused and your back is still giving trouble?

Yes and yes.

We are getting old!

We are old.

Speak for yourself buddy.

On a different note, is that umbrella not the perfect shade of purple for a rainy day?


7 comments:

  1. What a wonderful photo, all the colors seem bright and saturated for a gray winter day.

    I'm sorry about your mother's confusion and your brother's back pain. I hope both improve, at least a little, soon.

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  2. We just think we're old because we are so much older than we were. And of course, I myself AM old.
    Hopefully though, not as old as I will be.
    That purple umbrella is perfect.

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  3. I hope your mom's confusion is gentle on her. Dementia can be heartbreaking for the family but delicately soft on the person who has it. Just a gentle letting go of all the pain and sorrow of the world.

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  4. The umbrella is perfect and I love photos taken from a birds eyview.

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  5. What a wonderful photo.
    I'm sorry to read of your mother's confusion.
    We are not alone.

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  6. Good windows and light are such a luxury in New York. I never had either one! I always lived on lower floors. I DO love that umbrella!

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  7. When I saw the umbrella on your instagram, it reminded me of Harold and The Purple Crayon.

    I'm sorry for your mom, and your worry over her.

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