Tonight, Matthew, I'm going to be Kate Bush
That was the shortest sabbatical of all time! My, it's
fun to be capricious/moody.
I haven't recovered either physically or emotionally yet from the dash to Devon a couple of weekends ago, and to be honest, it's going to take some time. I am being realistic about my mother's illness. I'm refusing to believe, as some are, that she is going to suddenly rally and return to being that brusque/loveable creature that she once was. The fact is, she is frail and weak, and I think she has been lying to us about how she really feels for months.
To those of you with elderly parents: never accept the phrase "I'm fine".
I am hopeful that Mum's treatment will improve now that my four sisters have paid a visit to her GP. It can be hard to disagree with one of us, let alone four. One of my sisters also told the GP that if he was very unlucky and messed up again, that he'd also be blessed with a visit from me.
Regardless, I'm shell-shocked. This is not especially helpful, as there is a lot to do in general as well as for the wedding, and numerous other things also have to be slotted in (chores, the allotment, work - in that order). So I'm feeling a touch ragged at present.
On to other things. Nephew #2 and his fiancee R arrived on Saturday. We went with them to the Globe Theatre to see Troilus and Cressida on Sunday. It was the first time I'd been to the Globe in ages and it was fun, even thought we were standing/it drizzled the entire time. Given that the two young lovers are named in the title of the play, you might expect it to be a tragic tale of love. And...it isn't. It's a tragic tale of war. Kind of. Anyhoo, it was entertaining enough, there were lots of fellas stripped to the waist wearing tiny skirts, as well as Matthew Kelly. [He was pretty good, actually.]
In other news, I am trying to find a venue for our wedding party in London. This has been tougher than I thought it might be. I have a shortlist (short being the operative word) and am due to have a bit of a sneaky mooch around some of the places on Friday with my homegirl Mrs Hall. The response to my initial enquiries from some of the venues has varied from curt to couldn't give a shit to very friendly. I find it amazing that a simple, clear, two line email can elicit such a wide range of replies.
Labels: globe theatre
So long, farewell, auf wiedersehn, goodbye
I think it's time to take a bit of a break from this for a while.
I've noticed that I have nothing much to post here and that has been demoralising. Not discussing the wedding was a conscious decision, as the last thing I wanted to do was appear to be some kind of ludicrous nuptials-obsessed crazy woman with nothing else to talk about. I can't avoid the wedding, and it's getting increasingly close (ten weeks away), and it seems that (just like blogging) it is a thief of time.
Also, this weekend we ended up back in Devon again, because my mother was hospitalised with severe anaemia. This was a bit of a shock. She should have been getting more frequent blood tests but wasn't - her haemoglobin level was half what it should have been. I could rant on for paragraphs about how badly her healthcare has been handled, but I'm saving that for my complaint to the primary care trust.
I'm exhausted after a weekend of driving, hospital visiting, listening intently, saying the right things, cleaning up, laundry and being on the telephone. If nothing else, it's made me realise what Sister #3 has been going through for the past few years and I have resolved to do more with my mum than I have done in recent times - specifically, to visit more often and to do more to help when I'm there. Quite how things are going to work out is anyone's guess, but I can no longer take the view that out of sight = out of mind.
What I don't want to do is end up posting pointless crap on here about how terrible everything is and how tired I am, because frankly, who cares about that? Self-pity is simply that - about the
self, not others.
The change will hopefully do me good, and with luck I'll return here in better shape, more inclined and inspired to write and record.
Speed of life
Sorry things have been so quiet.
My weeks seem to be passing in a blur, and the weekends even faster. I seem to be perpetually running about, chasing things, doing chores. I'm not complaining, as such - I just can't believe the speed in which things seem to be zooming past.
A couple of Sundays ago we had a picnic for
JJ's landmark birthday, which was a lot of fun. We saw lots of folk we hadn't seen in ages and it was a beautiful day for it. It's made me a little determined to have a packed diary of get-togethers this summer. All of which, of course, will lead to time whizzing past even faster.
This past weekend was spent in Devon, taking care of my (rather ill) mother and doing more wedding-related things, like handing official pieces of paper to assistant registrars. The room in which we're getting married is faintly municipal, a bit like a library reading room that's been stripped of the microfiche readers and periodicals. I don't mind this: it feels welcoming and familiar, in a way that most libraries do.
Nephew #2 and his betrothed are visiting soon, which I'm looking forward to, and plans include going to the
Globe for some Shakespearean action. It's been ages since I was last there and I'm looking forward to it, even though the production has Matthew Kelly as a cast member.
Labels: libraries, the globe, time
Jackson, redux
This says what I wanted to say, only more articulately.
