I'm finally, almost back to normal. The only thing that still remains is the coughing. However, even that has subsided for the most part. I think one more day at home doing nothing, nothing out of my ordinary tasks, and I will have completely recovered.
Unfortunately, Joan's caregiver, Paige, called today to say she would not be coming because she now has the cold that I had when she was here. Evidently, just wearing the mask in the house while she was here did not stop all of the germs from traveling to her. It's unfortunate, because I was really looking forward to that 3-hour break.
Today was not one of the good days for Joan and me. She woke up in a grumpy mood, and she started the morning by telling me I was not taking good care of her. That really pissed me off, because I do everything I can to make her life easier and more pleasant. This morning it just got to me, and I struggled to hold my reaction inside. I really need a break from all of this.
I prepared French toast for her breakfast, and instead of eating breakfast with her, I took the garbage down to the collection area and stood outside for about 10 minutes just watching the clouds. By the time I went back upstairs, there was no mention of our earlier conversation. In this instance, the fact that she cannot remember things that happened just 10 minutes ago was a good thing, and it's possible to get her into a better mood.
We sat and watched a travel video about Vienna, and we couldn't remember much about our trip there in the year 2012. The only thing I remembered was the warehouse building where they kept hundreds of items from the past presidential palace, like furniture, clothing, and household items. Some of them they rent out to film Production companies who are making a movie with the palace in it, and they need furniture from that point in time. In some cases, they also allow government personnel to rent some of the furniture for their own personal housing and pay rent on the particular items of furniture they select.
To refresh Joan's memory, I went back into my blog to October of 2012 and found all of the pictures I had taken on the 5 days we spent in Vienna. She didn't remember all of the places, nor did I, but occasionally she recognized a picture, and we talked about it together. It was a good occasion to reconnect with the woman I once knew.
