Yesterday was a good day. I woke up early, had breakfast and was ready to walk to the clubhouse for an exercise class at 10:00 am. No, I hadn’t had a lazy morning! I had dusted and vacuumed upstairs. I had emptied the bins, sent a few text messages and replied to a few emails. The house was tidy for my husband’s return and I had survived my first week ‘home alone’!
After the exercise class I walked home and got ready to meet a friend for coffee, a thirty five minute drive away. There was rain forecast and I drove through a small shower which had cleared by the time I arrived at the coffee shop. Because my friend still works we had a limited time to catch up on all the latest office gossip before she had to rush off to a meeting.
That left me two hours to drive to the outlet village, have lunch (as all LOL’s do!) and get to the care home to spend time with my mother before they have their late afternoon supper. I decided to go to Marks and Spencer because they have a good gluten free selection. However, all the retired people living in and around Cheshire had decided to go to M&S for lunch as well! The place was heaving! I had chosen this week because all the schools had finished their mid term holidays so expected the shops to be relatively empty. But retired people still have to shop and it is obvious that this is how most of them spend a Thursday afternoon!
I couldn’t waste an hour, at least, of my life waiting for a seat in the main dining area so popped downstairs to the smaller cafe. There was still a queue but, because I was on my own and happy to sit at the bar, they pushed me through. I chose a turkey, stuffing and coleslaw sandwich (there were only three sandwiches left, all the same) so my choice was restricted! I propped myself up at the bar, ate my lunch and watched as the queue began to stretch into the main shopping area as lunchtime merged into afternoon tea.
Eating lunch on my own was not ideal and going at 1:30 pm was not ideal either! But it did leave me time to browse around some of the shops. When I worked I was always in a hurry and browsing was not something that I ever did. It was always a manic rush trying to find an outfit for a specific occasion or, if I did see an item of clothing I really liked, I would buy it in every colour! I hate shopping! The change rooms always have the worst mirrors and lighting, bizarrely, because you would think that clothes shops would ensure mirrors were flattering and lighting subdued! Not rocket science, just good marketing!
My mother was in good spirits. She was having tea and biscuits when I arrived and decided that it would be better to stay near the trolley than go to her room. We found a sofa in one of the sitting areas and I painted Mum’s nails and chatted to the care manager and her assistant, both doing their rounds.
I got home the same time as my husband. He only works a four day week to prepare for his ‘retirement’ so left him with instructions for our evening meal. I got changed and headed off to meet a friend and walk up to the clubhouse to do the circuit class. Two exercise classes in one day! Both completely different yet both equally enjoyable.
I’ll sleep well tonight. Physically exhausted and not worrying about ghosts! Monday is another day!👠
Jenny Burrell 