Day #27 Writing Through COVID-19: Helpful Suggestions?

I am the middle of five children. Over the past several years my siblings have stepped up to help my parents adjust to issues of aging.

My brother took over the maintenance of their small walnut tree farm. One sister researched and acquired my dad's electric wheelchair for him; she drove to Ft. Dodge each week to help him pay bills and make sense of his finances. Another sister, a physician like my dad, calls him often for engaging conversation in his favorite milieu: medicine. My other sister lives in Ft. Dodge, so she is the lynchpin, organizing our parents' appointments and grocery shopping, as well as visiting them several times a week.

So when my parents arrived at my house almost four weeks ago, my siblings rightfully thought they had insight to offer.

"Dad likes hominy," one sister texted, as if I had a pantry just stocked with the stuff.

My brother asked if Dan could hook up a C-PAP to a welding-torch oxygen tank to use as a Red and Green farm-style ventilator if the need should arise.

Another sister suggested I make a poster listing where my parents are and why they're here and post it visibly in the basement.

Considering our mother's penchant for picking up litter, the third sister thought I might want to sprinkle some trash around the yard to keep Mom occupied and feeling helpful.

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I have not yet resorted to strewing garbage on my lawn for my mother's entertainment. My parents dismissed out of hand the idea of the "You Are Here" posters. My own Red-Green farmer's eyes lit up when I told him about my brother's welder-ventilator idea, but at least for now I've dissuaded him from setting up production.

On my last town run, I did buy two cans of hominy.