And now for something completely--the same!
Usually on Sundayz, I find myself writing abt sumthing that has nuthin' 2 do with what I've been telling U abt the whole wk. Like, even if I wanted 2 continue talking abt whatev I'd been on abt on Mon thru Sat, I cdn't. But 2day, 4 sum reazon, it's like the forces that guide what I write abt want me 2 pick up where I left off yesterday!
So this is what I heard fr. Iris abt Gramps. In the morning, after his 1st nite home, Iris was all, "They showed me how 2 lift U, Jim. Now, roll 2 the side." She got him in2 his wheelchair and I guess while she wheeled him, he was kinda working his feet, so she was all, "Good! Keep using yr feet. It's good exercise." Then she wheeled him in2 the kitchen and sed, "I hope U're hungry, Jim." She pulled him up 2 the table an' brought him a bowl: "I've made Cream of Wheat. U like Cream of Wheat." When he struggled w/the spoon (and it's no wonder since his hand had b-come all clawlike), Iris was all, "Can U hold the spoon 2day or wd U like me 2 help U?" Then, "Here--Let's do this 2gether." He was resisting that, and she sed, "Yes, I know U'd rather do thing yrself, but U can't! ....U have me!" That kinda makes it sound like he can't do stuff himself only b-cuz of her, like she just won't let him!" As she wheeled him over 2 his EZ chair, she was all, "A stroke isn't going 2 get in our way, Jim. Whatever U want 2 do can B dun." That soundz good, but I hope she'z not giving him false hope. NEway, Iris sed she had this really, really strong feeling, rite after she'd gotten him in2 his EZ chair, that he was thinking, "I want 2 hug U, Iris. I just want 2 hug U." And he did. Awwww.
Well, that's all 4 now. I have no idea whether I'm switching topix 2morrow.
Apes
So this is what I heard fr. Iris abt Gramps. In the morning, after his 1st nite home, Iris was all, "They showed me how 2 lift U, Jim. Now, roll 2 the side." She got him in2 his wheelchair and I guess while she wheeled him, he was kinda working his feet, so she was all, "Good! Keep using yr feet. It's good exercise." Then she wheeled him in2 the kitchen and sed, "I hope U're hungry, Jim." She pulled him up 2 the table an' brought him a bowl: "I've made Cream of Wheat. U like Cream of Wheat." When he struggled w/the spoon (and it's no wonder since his hand had b-come all clawlike), Iris was all, "Can U hold the spoon 2day or wd U like me 2 help U?" Then, "Here--Let's do this 2gether." He was resisting that, and she sed, "Yes, I know U'd rather do thing yrself, but U can't! ....U have me!" That kinda makes it sound like he can't do stuff himself only b-cuz of her, like she just won't let him!" As she wheeled him over 2 his EZ chair, she was all, "A stroke isn't going 2 get in our way, Jim. Whatever U want 2 do can B dun." That soundz good, but I hope she'z not giving him false hope. NEway, Iris sed she had this really, really strong feeling, rite after she'd gotten him in2 his EZ chair, that he was thinking, "I want 2 hug U, Iris. I just want 2 hug U." And he did. Awwww.
Well, that's all 4 now. I have no idea whether I'm switching topix 2morrow.
Apes
posted by April Patterson @ 7:36 AM
12 Comments:
At 7:37 AM,
April Patterson said…
hey, so i kept trying 2 post last nite, but i cdn't cuz blogger was having probs. here's what i was trying 2 post:
howard, it was v. nice of u 2 help iris w/gramps like that!
yes, my band's been having practices, sorry i've 4gotten 2 write abt that, i just keep thinking abt my gramps.
mike, i think i kinda know what u mean, and that scarez me!
paul, i'd luv 2 visit up there an' c a pow wow sumtyme! w/out my mom, of course!!!
apes
p.s. to jeremy: i don't know if my dad is paying 4 xxtra care 4 my gramps. he nev tells me stuff like that.
At 10:29 AM,
Anonymous said…
April,
Little sis. Your Blog entry today has once again reminded me that women are definitely stronger than men are. I read about what Iris is doing for Grandpa Jim, and I know Deanna would do the same for me, if I was in the same situation as grandpa. I have asked myself, "Could I do what Iris is doing, if Deanna were the one who had the stroke, and she needed me to give up my everyday life to look after her? To give up the writing talent I feel within me to devote myself totally to her welfare? To sublimate my every wish for myself and every desire for life, in order to wait hand and foot on her every need, both the spoken and unspoken needs? Could I do it?
The answer is obviously, no. Those unspoken needs would be the killer. Iris may have the telepathy thing down with her "really, really strong feeling" / reading Grandpa Jim’s “hug” thoughts, but I could see myself with the invalid Deanna going, “I’m not getting it honey. Project your thoughts a little louder. Do you want me to work on your cuticles, or pluck the hairs growing out of your ears?” Then I would be plucking ear hairs, when she really wanted her cuticles worked on. A disaster, I know.
Deanna has her telepathy too, just like Iris. When she says, “I know what you’re thinking, Michael Patterson, and no, you can’t hide in the attic the whole time mom and dad are visiting.” She is amazingly accurate. I can tell if I have a stroke, she will have no trouble knowing when I want a hug.
Has your telepathy developed yet, April? Can you read Gerald’s thoughts? If you can, you probably don’t want to tell him you can. It’s kind of scary to guys, to know that we are so weak and helpless compared to you girls.
Love,
Michael Patterson
At 10:33 AM,
howard said…
April,
I think thought balloons are a wonderful invention. If you just read them, they take a lot of the mystery out of life. It’s like Iris’ feeling about your grandpa Jim wanting a hug. I am sure she has been around your grandpa so long; all she really has to do is read his thought balloons. I have been around Becky so long now; I have grown accustomed to reading her thought balloons. It's like a daily routine.
When I wake her up in the morning, her thought balloon usually says something like, “Shake me again, Howie, and you will lose a finger.” So then I shake her a second time with my foot, just to be safe.
Then when Becky gets out of bed, her thought balloon usually says, “I hope you’re not making any of that Cream of Wheat for breakfast. That’s like eating gruel.” So, then I inform her what is being served for breakfast, which I can assure you will never be Cream of Wheat again after the first and last time I served that for Becky.
Then when Becky has gotten out of her night clothes and into the bath, her thought balloon usually says, “I hope Howie remembered to make enough bubbles for my bath so it is at least 2 layers of bubbles thick across the tub.” So, then I inform her that I measured the bubble level and it was at least 3 bubbles thick.
Then when Becky is in the bath and I am giving her a shamp-Oh, her thought balloon usually says…Actually I think I better skip this one.
When Becky is getting dressed and I am putting on her makeup, her thought balloon usually says, “When is Howie going to trim back that nose hair?” So, then inform her that I trim my nose hair everyday, ever since that time I forgot and the stray long nose hair got caught in the door.
When Becky is eating breakfast and I am serving her with my homemade syrup on her waffles, her thought balloon usually says, “Why can’t Howie just buy good old Canadian maple syrup, instead of making everything from scratch?” So, then I inform her that my recipe is vastly superiour to that nasty store-bought syrup, and I am still a loyal Canadian despite my leanings against Canadian maple syrup.
But when Becky is thinking about how I am going to prison after my trial, her thought balloon usually says, “I don’t want Howie to leave. I want to hug him and hold him with me forever.” So, then I give Becky a big, long hug for as long as she wants.
Thought balloons are great.
Howard Bunt
At 10:37 AM,
Anonymous said…
April,
Boozhoo (Hello).
I read your writings about your nokomis (grandmother) helping your mishomis (grandfather) eat and giving him a hug. You should be very happy to belong to a family where everyone supports and helps each other. I know when I talk to my sweet girl about your mishomis (grandfather), she says she does her part by taking a bubble bath and doing a lot of writing, so your mishomis (grandfather) can be the focus of everyone’s energy. After 3 weeks of this, I think my sweet girl must be very clean and she must have written a lot.
I have been having a great time at the Mtigwaki (Land of Trees) pow-wow. We were up all night dancing to the drummers’ drumming and eating and drinking all the great food. My friend Susan Dokis, whom I call Chipper, did win the Jingle Dress dance competition. I did not even place in the Traditional Dance competition, but I did not expect to.
As it was getting close to morning, Chipper said to me, “Suds (her nickname for me), do you remember what we used to do when we were kids and the adults were still sleeping off the pow-wow the next morning?” I said, “Eating breakfast?” Chipper said, “No. After that.” I said, “Picking up empty beer bottles to see if we could drink what was left?” Chipper said, “No. Suds. After that.” I said, “You must mean swimming in the lake.” Chipper said, “You do remember. I was getting worried for a moment your brain had been affected by too much Southernism.” I said, “Chipper. I was just playing. Of course I remember.”
Chipper said, “Well, Suds. Do you want to take a swim with me, like we did in the old days?” I said, “OK. I’ll get my swim suit.” Chipper said, “Suds. In the old days, when we were little, we swam without clothes on.” I said, “I think that would be illegal at our age. The Mtigwaki (Land of Trees) Lake is not officially sanctioned for nude swimming, and as an officer of the law, it would not look good if I got caught breaking the law.” Chipper said, “Suds. Sorry. I don’t know what to say.” I said, “Well, what you should say is, ‘Last one to the lake is a rotten waawan (egg).’” Then Chipper said, “Last one to the lake is a…Hey! That’s cheating,” because I had started running off to the lake and I made it there a lot faster than Chipper and I was already in the lake by the time she got there. When we got to the lake, Chipper was sticking her toe in the water and she said, “This water is a lot colder than I remember when I was young.” I taunted her with native humour and said, “Those who can’t take the dakibii (cold water) are dakide`e (have a cold heart).” That’s a little Ojibway word play because both words start with “daki.” Chipper couldn’t take my native humour and she said, “Suds. You are going to diba`an (pay) a diba`igan (mile) for what you said.” That’s a little more Ojibway word play because they both start with “diba”. Never do taunting wordplay with a teacher. You will always lose.
Chipper came into the lake after me. Soon we were splashing and dunking each other under the water, just like we did when we were little. It was like being a kid again, except I weigh a lot more than Chipper does now. We were closer together in weight when we were little. Now, Chipper practically had to jump on top of me to get my head under the water, which she did a lot. We were having a great time, laughing and shrieking like little kids, but then a disaster happened. We heard a voice on the side of the lake. It was little Jesse Mukwa. He said, “How much do you want for these clothes?” I said, “Leave those alone, Jesse Mukwa. I am an officer of the law.” Jesse said, “You will be a naked officer of the law. I will have to call you dakoniwewinini (policeman) bigwaashaagidoobatoo (running around naked).” That made me very nervous because I knew he would do it, and then it would be very difficult for me to command the respect I needed in Mtigwaki (Land of Trees) to enforce the law.
Then Chipper said, “Jesse Mukwa. I will pay you with a batch of homemade cookies, but if anyone else in Mtigwaki (Land of Trees) hears about this or even whispers about this, you will never get a cookie from me again.” Jesse said, “OK.” And he walked off. I was still nervous and I said, “Everyone will know. This is Mtigwaki (Land of Trees). There are no secrets here, especially with Jesse Mukwa. He talked to everyone about every little thing that happened to Elizabeth when she was here.” Chipper said, “There are a lot of secrets in Mtigwaki (Land of Trees) and people will keep them, if they trust and respect you. People, who think you can’t get privacy in Mtigwaki (Land of Trees), are not trusted or respected by the people who live here. Don’t worry, Suds. Jesse isn’t going to say anything.” Then she gave me a look which made me believe every word she said. I was so happy I wasn’t going to have to walk through Mtigwaki (Land of Trees) without any clothes on, I started thinking, “I want to hug you, Chipper. I just want to hug you.” And then, as if Chipper could read my mind, Chipper gave me a big hug and held me for a long time. Then Chipper said, “Come on, Suds. We have some cookies to make.” So then we spent the morning making cookies. It was a fun morning, even if it was little scary.
Gi'-ga-wa-ba-min' na-gutch! (See you later!)
Constable Paul Wright
At 10:38 AM,
April Patterson said…
howard, ita abt thot balloons. i think iris's gen is kinda shy abt admitting they can read thot balloons, so they say stuff like "i had a strong feeling he was thinking '[blah, blah, blah]'", insteada just saying, "i cd read his thot balloon", like u, me, becks, and other yunger peeps do.
apes
At 10:44 AM,
Anonymous said…
april, i had this v.v. strange dream last nite. then wen i red ur blog entry 2day, a chill went up & down my back. lemme tell u y.
i dreamed i was lying in my bed & u came up 2 me & sed, “they showed me how 2 lift u, jeremy. now roll 2 the side…” so then i wuz magically n this wheel chair & u were pushin’ me & sayin’, “good! keep usin’ ur feet. it’s good exercise.” & the whole tyme the wheel chair wuz runnin’ ovah my feet & it wuz all i cud do 2 keep frum screamin’ n pain. then u sed, “i hope ur hungry, jeremy.” & i thot, ok. now i am gonna get a lotta food 2 make up 4 all that foot pain.” but then u wheeled me up 2 the table & u were wavin’ this bowl of mush n fronta me & sayin’ “i’ve made cream of wheat. you like cream of wheat.” like i wuz sum kinda little kid who didn’t wanna eat his veggies. then i picked up the spoon & tried 2 make my hand work, but my hand wouldn’t work. it wuz fumbling all ovah the place & i started sweatin’ tryin’ 2 make it work. then u sed, “can u hold the spoon 2day or wud u like me 2 help u? here-let’s do this 2gethah.”
then u grabbed my hand and pushed that nasty cream of wheat n2 my mouth. it wuz so horrible-tasting, i hadda turn my head so i wudn’t vomit. then u sed, “yes, i know you’d rather do things urself, but u can’t!...u have me.” @1st i thot, that duzn’t evn make sense. but then i realized u sed, “u have me!” & i thot, “this must b a dream, cuz n real life, gerald haz u.” then u wheeled me ovah 2 a chair & like magic again i wuz n the chair. & then u sed, “a stroke isn’t going to get n our way, jeremy. whatever u want 2 do can b done.” then i thot “i wanna …” well it wuz a different word than “hug.” um, let’s just say, that it wuz rilly like the story u told ‘bout ur grandpa 2day, xxcept we weren’t huggin’ n my dream, eh? i thot it wuz so weird i wud have a dream w/u n it which wuz so like wut happed w/ur step grandma & ur grandpa jim. u don’t think i am like, readin’ their minds do u? it wud b totally weird, if i cud. my mom sez, “jeremy u barely know wut ur thinkin’ & much less ne1 else.” wutya think?
At 10:50 AM,
April Patterson said…
howard and paul, that's a funny coincidence abt the hugging, with becky thinking abt a hug and getting one fr. howard, and paul thinking abt one and getting one fr. susan. kinda like gramps an' iris! funny thing, liz swearz, i mean totally swears, that shiimsa was thinking "i want my human 2 hug me", so liz tried, and now she's got scratches on her an' she's putting on a buncha bactine. and she's mad @ buttsy, all, "april, i swear that bunny is laffing @ me!" i didn't have the heart 2 tell her that eddie an' dixierat seemed 2 think it was pretty lol-larious, 2.
apes
At 11:12 AM,
April Patterson said…
jeremy, yeah, whatta weird dream! i dunno if u r reading gramps's or iris's mind, but i guess it's poss. it wdn't b the strangest thing i've ev heard of, eh?
oh, dunc an' his dad just got here. our dads have a choo-choo d8. uh-oh, mr. anderson's wearing his "call me dean" sweatshirt. i wonder what he'z dun 2 tick off mrs. a this time.
apes
At 7:01 PM,
Anonymous said…
April,
Boozhoo (Hello).
I read your writings about your sister getting scratched by her cat, Shiimsa. Shiimsa is good at scratching. I have the scars to prove it. I tried to tell your sister, my technique with Shiimsa is to give her a fresh fish, and she is usually too distracted eating it to scratch you when you try to hug her. But my sweet girl said it is very hard to keep fresh food in your house. I said, “Your mikwamii-makak (refrigerator) doesn’t work well?” Your sister said, “No my ngashi (mother) eats too well.” I have seen your ngashi (mother) eat, so I had no problem believing her story. I told her I did not know of a way to solve her problem, except to take Shiimsa on a walk to a giigoonh-adaawewinini (fish monger), where your ngashi (mother) would not follow. Your sister said you don’t have those in the South. Maybe you and your sister can go fishing with Shiimsa sometime. Do you fish?
Gi'-ga-wa-ba-min' na-gutch! (See you later!)
Constable Paul Wright
At 7:08 PM,
Anonymous said…
april, i had a nap this aftahnoon, & i dreamed i needed 2 go 2 the washroom v.v. bad, & u were wheeling me ovah there & i thot, “is april gonna hafta take down my pants & wipe me off?” but then, like magic, we were headed away frum the washroom, i was n the wheel chair, & i didn’t need 2 go 2 the washroom nemore. it made me kinda wondah if thass the way it iz 4 ur grandpa 2, where your step grandma nevah hazta do nethin’ hard takin’ care of him, but wheel him around & helping him eat & huggin’ him (which has gotta b hard frum the old man smell). & then i woke up. i wondah wut it meanz if i have 2 dreamz n a row where i feel like i am an invalid old man & ur takin’ care of me. ‘course the way i am agin’ theze dayz, that cud b next year. i hope it duzn’t happ b4 i grad frum high skool.
At 7:10 PM,
April Patterson said…
paul, sumtymez my dad takes me on fishing trips. i alwayz catch more fish than he does, even tho he usez all kindsa special "techniques" and i totally don't. liz doesn't like 2 fish, tho.
apes
At 7:12 PM,
April Patterson said…
omg, jeremy, w/dreamz like that, i bet u don't wanna sleep! i hope yr bad dreams stop soon.
apes
Post a Comment
<< Home