Keeping Going Is A Life

For the last week I’ve been juggling work, an energy upgrade cold and helping move my auntie to a new home. Keeping it all going has been quite exhausting.

At six this morning when my alarm went off I could cheerfully have stayed snuggled up in bed. Yet I knew there were deliveries arriving, untilities to be switched on and a couple of repairs to be done before my auntie could move in. So off I went, still half asleep, with a long list of things to do. Keeping it all organised has been a task in itself. Yet this house is a new lease of life for my auntie. At seventy seven, with a list of ailments as long as my arm, she had become some what a prisoner in her home. Because it is on a hill of sorts. So the path to her house was hard work when pushing the trolley she needs because her walking is bad.

The discussions about her moving house have taken a couple of years. She had lived in her previous home for 23 years. It was also the home of her mother for many years before that. There are a lot of family memories tied in with that place. I knew that she was finding herself more isolated as time passed but my auntie has a stubborn streak. It’s the energy that has kept her going as illness, loss and change threw her life upside down time and again. She’s determined that life isn’t over until it’s over. And I know that she wants to live it to the full. So eventually she decided that the hill was too much. I was relieved when she said she would move. But that was only the first step.

Keeping positive I started the process of getting a new house. Within the restrictions that my auntie needed or had given me.

The new place had to be on the flat. It also had to be in the same area as her other one. She wanted to stay with the friends she has known for many years. Even though, as she laughingly told me, the ones who are now on the other side have to come back and haunt her to get her attention. It’s taken six months for the right place to be manifested but last week I got the keys. Then the process of saying goodbye began. My auntie decided to clear lots of things away. She wanted to have new energy in her new home. I made a list of what she wanted to take. Top of the list was my Nanna’s display cabinet. Something that was in every front room fifty years ago. As a sign of being a step above poor.

As we waded through family photos, old clothes and pottery ornaments I got the sories of every item. The ups and downs. The might have beens and the actual events. I find my auntie fascinating to listen to. So does my daughter. Whatever has happened my auntie has plodded on. Keeping facing forward and trying to do her best. In fact that’s one of the qualities I really admire. Some would say she is a grumpy old woman determined to outlast us all. Most would say she’s a survivor. And her many friends would speak about her sense of humour, her kindness and her ability to carry on. I’m delighted that she will be in a much more appropriate home for her. And that she can enjoy a safe, comfortable environment for many years to come.

Day 456 of my blogging challenge.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.