I'm starting to get a feel for what it would be like to live in an old people's home. The terror is overwhelming. It would be like living at a hotel, without being allowed to work, browse the web, or go exploring and hiking in the forest, or walk in and out when you want. You don't have your own kitchen so you can't just go and browse the pantry in the hope of fresh snack ideas. You can't have morning tea, you can't have a hot drink after 6pm or before 3pm, you can't control which food you eat, or the amount, and you have to have meals at set times. You can't just get up and decide to clean your house - you have to wait for the cleaning gear to come to you, whenever the cleaner is ready. Your bedroom is your living room, so you alternate between sitting on the bed and sitting on the chair, which is not much variety... you go down and sit in the common lounge area and put your nose in a paper, but really you're just there in the hopes of hearing other human conversation and the possibility of having a chat with someone. Never mind that you are both deaf so barely seem to speak the same language.
You can't do aerobics in your room because the poeple downstairs will get disturbed. When you open your balcony door your room fills up with cigarette smoke from someone outside. You pass your time trying to plan and organise your week and other events like the birthdates of all the people in your life. You keep calendars filled up as best you can. You are constantly wondering what will be for lunch, or dinner, because it's the only reliable time-breaker in your life.
And so on.
It's an ultimately sobering thought.
I guess I have had a lot of time to think about it.
Lucky for me I can take off whenever I want and get myself lots of nice little adventure-injuries like grazed knees (now I understand why they dont wear jandals... gravel on river banks) and the like. I'm hoping tomorrow I will get time inbetween morning job (cleaning. Not excited about it.) and evening job in the kitchen to go investigate a new track I found today. I found around one corner the heat lifted and instantly there was ice cold air around me. It was in about a 5m square radius. I dont understand it on such a boiling day and I want to go back to see what it was.
Anyway, the main reaon I'm writing this is because its only 9pm and everything is closed and dead and I am still very much alive.
I'm off to stay where they play all day, where the sun does shine and the clouds don't rain, in the big rock candy mountains..
About Me
- Amy @ Five Kinds of Happy
- I'm Amy, an NZ mum addicted to design and making things. In a past life I spent my days doing interior design and architecture. Today I am learning contentment in our 70's home and doing my best to make improvements with an almost-zero budget. Here is where I share my projects and hope to inspire others!