September 2017 – Page 2 – Shrinking Horizons

Carb counting or calorie counting?

Well that is the question. I have opted for both really, low carbs and low calories and so far so good. I lost nearly 5 pounds last week but doubt I will be as successful this week. Having visitors to stay is a difficult time to diet especially when eating out. I am still a novice at all this but after much reading I understand that if I wish to be back to pre diabetic I must lose weight and the quicker the better seems to be the maxim.

Fortunately I can still enjoy a glass or two of wine with my meals and that certainly improves things. Lots of vegetables, protein, small amounts of carbs, not many fats but good ones like olive oil and even cheese is on the menu with as many herbs and spices as I want, then with the addition of fruit and small amounts of milk and yogurt we have the basis of the diet. The biggest problem for me and the LSO is that I love big flavours and hot ones too and these don’t work for the AP.

AP isn’t really a foodie we have discovered despite her earlier protestations to the contrary. If it can be sucked up through a straw it is acceptable and it must always be easy eating, lots of gravy and very bland. On the other hand I can grill Lemon Sole for her, which is a particular favourite, with chips of course and her plate will be swimming in vinegar and lemon juice. At the end of the meal the AP will sit back and announce how much she enjoyed the delicate flavour of the fish! Still, everyone to their own.The long suffering friend was talking to the AP the other day and they were discussing last meals. I have no idea where the conversation came from but when the AP was asked what her last meal would be the answer was a tin of Ambrosia Creamed Rice. I guess that says it all.

Seventeen days to go.

Under Pressure.

It’s difficult to explain the feeling of being under pressure. Something like a feeling of having your heart squeezed combined with being surrounded by an unseen fog. It feels like you can’t breath properly, you can of course because it is all in the mind. The AP continues to sail on like a galleon oblivious to the hurt and chaos left behind in her wake.

Not only have I a long suffering husband but I now have a long suffering friend who thankfully is a good friend and understands the problems because she also has a difficult AP of her own. She arrived on Monday and has been a breath of fresh air.

A horde of family descended on us last Wednesday which was really enjoyable and ten of us had a very chatty, noisy lunch out but the AP had to try and assert herself by as usual, being unpleasant to me. No, I hadn’t done what I was accused of but still had to take the flack. It did nothing to aid my enjoyment of lunch and if it hadn’t been for the pleasantness of the family, my stoic friend and the laughter it would have been unbearable.

The AP is still implying to all and sundry that I have as she puts it, ‘squeezed in another week’ of her staying with my cousin in Scotland. The extra week was suggested by my cousin and we have gratefully accepted his kindness. I really wouldn’t dream of asking him to have her longer than the usual three weeks but he, God Bless him understands instinctively how difficult things are for us. Given the year we have had both of us are really in need of a decent break. So why can’t the AP just accept the situation with grace instead of harping on and making us feel so guilty.

It is a hugely frustrating situation. A friend asked me the other day if we had expected her to live this length of time when she came to live with us and yes, we had hoped she would enjoy a hundredth birthday and felt there was every chance of it. No, we didn’t resent the situation in the very beginning but what we did not expect was that her real personality would be so different from the person we thought she was or that she would become so self centred and lacking in empathy. It brings up the question of course which is ‘do we really ever know our parents?’ In our/my case obviously not.

Eighteen days to go.

Riding the Rollercoaster.

In this case an emotional rollercoaster. I do at times feel sorry for the AP, it’s not much fun getting old and at 99 years of age she is very old but sadly she does little to endear herself to us. Maybe, in her mind, she doesn’t need to as she has everything someone of such a great age could desire really. A space of her own yet people around, regular meals, varied and considered, servants at her beck and call, washing done, all shopping done, cleaning taken care of, bills paid, chauffeurs when needed and all she has to do is care for herself and potter. She can still potter; the AP does several slow circuits of the front garden maybe once a week weather allowing, it is a good size to walk around and she still goes to a weekly keep fit class. We do occasionally arrange for a friend to come over and lunch is duly prepared for them or some wonderful kind friends take her off for the day and entertain her. In the meantime with the aid of magnifiers she can just manage to read and she has her own television.

Does this make for a pleasant and contented existence? Well, no, it would appear not to be the case. The AP announced the other day ‘that time flies by but why should that be the case when she does nothing and is basically bored.’

She has no concept of what her living with us has done to our lives or how bored we have become with the monotony of our existence. We live with, accept it and get on with things as cheerfully as we can but do feel that at a time when we should be enjoying an active retirement, spending more time with our own children and travelling we are here instead, looking after an ungrateful, graceless old lady who has become selfish and self-centred. Thank you and please are words that have vanished from her vocabulary where we are concerned. I know we made this choice but truth be told we had no idea what we were letting yourselves in for and really no-one can explain, only those who have done it understand how relentless it all is.

Tomorrow an old friend of mine is arriving for a few days and I have been told magnanimously that I must have a day out with her on my own. I am almost lost for words. Then later in the week a cousin and her family are arriving for lunch and we are already preparing ourselves for the inevitable gushing and pretence and are just thankful it is only for a day.

Twenty three days to a month of freedom and yes, I am counting.