Day #101 (part 2) Writing Through COVID-19: Enjoyment?

My sister had a Zoom visit with my parents today. Early in the conversation, my dad said, "We've outgrown our usefulness, and now I think we've aged out of our enjoyment of life."

"STOP!" I interrupted. I reminded him we had just played a lively 40 minutes of Bridge. It was a beautiful day. He's reading a good book. He loves his morning coffee!

He laughed a little sheepishly, then amended his comment: "I mean we might run out of enjoyment in a few years."

"That's better!" I said.
---------------------------

I watch for any signs of depression. Their sleep seems regular and deep. They eat well. They laugh often. They engage in upbeat conversations. My mom has what I call "dark times" or "jags" when she needs some help getting back to the here and now. But I'm living quite closely with these people, and I see them enjoying their lives far more than not.

So where is this "outgrowing life's enjoyment" coming from?

I know my dad wishes he were more agile. Today when I dealt the cards, he commented that he can no longer deal that fast. He walks faster than he is able and then weaves as his sense of balance tries to catch up with him. This guy biked through Belgium at age 67. He played tennis until he was 75.

Heart-valve repair gave him some renewed energy, but for the past 10 years, he's easily winded and simply old. Still, he has more mobility than many 90-year-olds.
--------------------------

I nudged my mom to tell my sister about our asparagus patch, how we've been visiting it every couple of days and gathering a few spears at a time. Instead, she told my sister about how Vern likes to eat the dried asparagus stalks. This is true, but her response reminded me of how random her memory is. When I chimed in to tell MY version of the asparagus story, my mom nodded in agreement, enjoying the idea if not actually remembering the many times we've collected asparagus on the terrace.
--------------------------

Later in the day my dad said, "Alli, this was such a nice afternoon." It was. But I wondered if he made the comment to assure me he hadn't lost all of life's enjoyment.
--------------------------

Birthday Boy, Dan Hoegh (circa 1964)

Dan turned 62 today. To celebrate, we called in an order to Darrell's Place in Hamlin and took the back roads to pick up our takeout order. The only masked people in the place were me and another woman picking up her takeout.

This reminded me of something I saw on Twitter today:

Enough.
Be well.
Write.

Allison