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?