“I don’t think this is going to work,” my mother whispered as she talked away from the new caregiver. This is the first day she has been there and I personally found her delightful. I left them to get to know each other, but it wasn’t even an hour before I heard those words from her mouth. My eye-roll does not travel across the telephone roadway, so I patiently asked why. The explanation lies in the revelation that this delightful woman cares for a lot of stray cats. She is part of a growing group of individuals who take it upon themselves to keep those feral cats happy and healthy. My mother mistakenly heard that she has fifteen cats living in her home – which she does not – and with that my mother eyes started to water. Why? Because she is allergic to cats. My mother’s psychosomatic antenna was raised and she is positive that the new caregiver is carrying cat dander into her house. So, the fact that I have three cats and are over to her house on a regular basis doesn’t register. My response was……”it has only been an hour.”
The morning started with me giving her a wake-up call at 9:30. On most days, my mother enjoys the luxury of sleeping in to the early afternoon hours after staying up to the wee hours of the morning. She is a night owl. I called once. No answer. I called a second time and she groggily answered the phone. “Are you awake?, I asked knowing the answer. She asked the time and is seemingly annoyed that I am calling, but since the new lady was starting at 10, I thought maybe we could start on a proper note. She begrudgingly agrees to get up and sarcastically says, “Okay, mother. I am up now.”. I get this from my own children, so hearing the same words from my mother only makes me pray that this woman lasts for a while.
Around 4 pm, I see the caller ID light up and I know. I know that this is the end of caregiver #1. I answer and I hear, “I fired her. Gave her $40 and sent her on her way. She was nice and my kitchen floor sparkles like never before, but she takes care of all of those cats and I just can’t listen to those cat stories.” Sigh……….. The rest of the conversation resulted in her meeting my Medusa/Exorcist side kick when she asked why I couldn’t do all of this instead of having a caregiver. Truly, not my finest hour. You see, this is why I didn’t pursue nursing. I have the patience of a toddler.
So, today a fill in comes to the house and tomorrow we will try with caregiver #2. I have the lowest of low expectations. Stay tuned and Jesus, please take the wheel!
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