Sunday

I spent this morning, it being a Sunday, in spiritual contemplation. “Are you going to church tomorrow?” John had asked last night. Actually, I had been thinking I would go but, having learnt that the village is rife with COVID, I thought better of it. I watched the service live online instead. It’s not as good as being there in person, but it gave me food for thought.

Peter’s sermon was interesting because he reminded us that, in order to get to where you want to go, or get something you need, you might have to move something. Just looking in one place may not get you to where you should be. And advice often comes from someone who loves you. OK. Noted.

After I’d watched the service, I went out into the garden where the sun was shining and it was rather warm. Sat myself down on one of the loungers and did a spot of meditation. The trouble with meditation is that, sometimes, you fall asleep. You are not meant to but, you know, with the conditions being so warm and comfortable, the eyelids droop and………. well, before you know it, you’re a-snoozing……..

Over an hour later, I heard a cough and then the back door opening, as John made his way outside. “Do you want a cup of tea?” he asked. Good idea, I thought, as I opened a bleary eye, it might wake me up. We sat outside for another forty minutes or so, just enjoying the garden and the weather. Gorgeous.

Then this afternoon, I thank you, Lord, for my Mum who, at the age of 95 and without much memory, is happy, cheerful and pleasant.

I spent a very happy couple of hours with Mum this afternoon. She was, as always, delighted to see me, giving me a huge hug and a beaming smile. She was delighted with the bits and bobs I’d taken over but, once again, wasn’t sure she was allowed to open the box of chocolates. “Why don’t you want to open them, Mum?” I asked. “Well, because I shall just eat them and eat them,” she replied, with a grin.

She did show a flash of her former self at this visit – something she’s done just once before recently – when she objected to the blouse I was wearing. “Whatever have you got on?” she said, searchingly. “It’s a blouse, Mum,” I replied. “Well, it looks a bit crumpled.” she said, “and you don’t look like yourself at all.” Oh….. well, truth to tell, the blouse is supposed to look a bit crumpled but, I hadn’t ironed it either….. she shook her head despairingly and tutted. Ah! That’s the Mum I used to know…..

Other than that, we had half a dozen renditions of her favourite song ‘I was born under a wandering star’ and a whole lot of reminiscence as we looked at photos of Lockdown 2020 and her 90th birthday album. Not only did we reminisce but there was a lot of giggling too. At one point, she was laughing and laughing, which made me laugh longer, until we both looked at each other, tears in our eyes, and laughed some more. Lovely.

She pored over the photographs and paused over the photos of Graham, her fingers fondly tracing his features. “How long is it since they went to Australia, did you say?” Eleven years….. gosh, what a long time ago……”I don’t suppose he’s changed much, has he?” she said wistfully. “No, Mum. He hasn’t changed at all. Still the same.” She nodded, satisfied. And then, “Send Gail my very good wishes for her recovery the next time you see her, won’t you?” Yes, Mum, I will……. must confess, I think there was something in my eye…..

It’s amusing to me now, though, when I visit, because there is always the same little routine of delight when I arrive and laughter during the visit; reluctance to open her chocolates; singing her song ad nauseum; searching for her hankies; and the shock of finding me in her room when she comes out of the loo, having totally forgotten that I am there.

When I arrived home, John had been busy. We had a leak under the sink in the utility room, so he thought he felt better enough to try and fix it. Despite all the spare parts he’s accumulated over the years, he couldn’t find the right piece for that repair, so he nipped to Screwfix to buy the right bit. Once home, he duly fitted the piece and….. voila! It looks like it done!

But you know that song about ‘The Gas Man’? Hmmm…. it was a bit like that….. the mending of the leak required moving both the washing machine and the tumble dryer and the shelf in the cupboard plus all its cleaning materials, which were all over the floor.

Buoyed up the success of mending the leak, John thought he’d have a look at the washing machine, which has been walking into the middle of the utility room whenever it’s on a spin cycle. I arrived home just at the right moment. “Here, hold this.” “Can you get the torch?” “We need a hammer” and, leaning the washing machine over at a 45 degree angle: “Have you got it? Safe? Not going to drop it?” and so on….

The thing about John is – he never gives up. I was all for having a tidy up and ‘leaving it until tomorrow’. But no, Mr Determined is his middle name. And, with me in a supporting role, he got it fixed. Boom.

“I’ll just put the tumble dryer back then,” I said, only to find that the hose on the tumble dryer had a gaping hole in it….had we got a spare? Erm… that’ll be a ‘no’. “I think I threw it away when we had the skip because we thought it was surplus to requirements,” I said. Yep, we’d chucked it out. Oh, well, that’ll be a job for tomorrow then.

COVID news tomorrow folks – can’t face it today.

Take care everyone. And to quote Dave Allen: ‘May your God go with you’.