One of the hardest things about growing older is losing the physical ability to do some of the simplest of things. When I was a young girl I can remember Grandmother Waddington asking us to trim her toe nails, which we did, although sometimes somewhat reluctlantly, as she could longer bend over to do this for herself. I don’t remember thinking much of it at the time as there were so many things that grandmother asked us to do for her. We were literally her legs as she struggled with the crippling arthritis that hampered movement in her later years. I can remember mother telling us of trips that grandmother would take to some of the ‘hot springs’ of the time that had the reputation of soothing those crippled bodies and making life more bearable. I know that this must seem strange now when the medical profession has so much to offer by way of medications, physical therapy, etc. but these modern day miracles hadn’t even been thought of in grandmother’s lifetime.
I don’t ever remember grandmother without her cane, which was brown wood with a rubber tip that had to be replaced when it wore out, it seemed like a natural extension of her body to me as it was always in her hand if she were standing or propped up on the chair close to hand if she were sitting. One of the things we girls soon learned was not to come within reach of that cane. I am sad to say that we sometimes rebelled at being asked to help and ’sassed’ her. Never one to take any nonsense from us she would whip her cane up and quick as could be she would have us snared around the neck. Once this was accomplished she would pull us right up next to her and let us know in no uncertain terms that we were out of order. Little dickens that we were, if we were of a mind to be naughty we figured out that we could avoid getting ’snagged’ if we were careful about how close we got to her. Mother, of course, would not tolerate our being disobedient to her mother so we always came when we were called–we just made sure that we didn’t get too close.
I also remember watching one day as one of my sisters was playing with the cane and got the curved handle stuck in her throat and nearly choked to death before mother came to the rescue and removed it. That cane holds lots of memories for me–I wonder what ever became of it? I wonder if they buried it with her? She died while Barbara and I were attending school at BYU. Our parents felt that it was more important for us to finish out the year than to come back for her funeral. I suspect that they simply couldn’t manage the expense of getting us home and then back out to Utah again so close to the end of the school year.
I’ve been remembering this because MGH has now reached the point where he can no longer trim his toenails. I am afraid I am not much help to him either as the clippers are awkward to use and I have just enough arthritis in my hands that it makes it difficult for me to manipulate the clippers on his tough old nails. It’s just one of the signs that neither of us is as young as we used to be.
There are a lot of things that don’t get done around our retirement home quite as quickly as in days of yore so when Brooks let us know that he would be coming out for a visit in June he told us to make a list of things that he could help us with, which I did, and he did. Tasks I had been dreading and therefore added to my ’round-to-it’ list such as changing all the batteries in the smoke alarms upstairs upstairs mainly because it involved hauling the wooden ladder up the stairs which is still doable for me but I don’t like to do anymore than twice in a five year period and I had already passed that quota several years ago, not to mention the fact that the ladder was already fully occupied holding up a blanket to block the sun off the computer screen in the afternoon when the glare made it impossible to play Freecell, which by they by I quit cold turkey last February.
Brooks went on to diagnose why my computer sounded like a jet plane taking off when it was booting up (a fan had gone bad), found the part for it quick as could be and got me back in business, hopefully until his next trip home, whenever that might be. (Imaging his dismay, then, when I called him to tell him there was no sound.
“What”, he yelled through the phone when I told him of my problem.
“How could you manage to screw things up in three days?” What could I say except that for me that wasn’t difficult.
He also installed a device that will let me move my computer anywhere I want it which I intend to do just as soon as I get the downstairs painted. This is a must do for me if I ever stand a chance of getting our family history organized as I need a place to spread out materials that need to be sorted and organized into some usable form. I have had help from Brooks and Mark in getting the ceiling ready to paint its just that life keeps happening and drawing my attention to other things that need doing. Sigh.
Brooks also hung the curtain rod over the sliding door downstairs which I have been putting off doing for years because I wanted to wait until I got the painting done but that hasn’t happened so I finally decided that the ladder could be put to better use and had him do that for me as well. He was so good about helping, even when the smoke alarm in our bedroom which must be attached to the electrical wiring somehow ‘bit’ him he never complained or got angry. I really appreciated the time he took to help his parents with some of the little things that have needed to be done for a long time.
We’ve missed Brooks being so close. We had gotten so we just took for granted his being near by. Having breakfast with him and Nancy and sometimes Dakota on Saturday morning. The sound of the lawn mower as he kept our lawn under control. His teasing which kept us laughing. His insightful comments about current events. His Robert Jordan books which he has loaned me over the years. The barbecues he and Nancy invited us to at their house. Just knowing that if we needed help he was there. As I say, we miss him but realize that he needed the challenge of a new job and so we wish him health and wealth and send our love where ever he goes as he follows his dream.
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