ROUGH NIGHTS
February 6, 2013 in Random Thoughts
Notes:
1) In the middle of the night, my dad does not whisper. He uses his normal speaking voice, only louder.
2) I get very cranky when I’m woken up in the middle of the night.
9:00pm Lights Out
11:00pm
DAD: Where is everybody?
ME: I’m here.
11:10pm
DAD: Where is everybody?
ME: I’m here.
DAD: Are my feet out in the open?
ME: (getting up from the couch and tucking the blankets more snugly around his feet) No, they’re fine.
11:15pm
DAD: Are my sheets almost tangled in my legs?
ME: (getting up and adjusting his blankets) No, they’re fine.
11:30pm
DAD: Can my feet be rubbed?
ME: No. You need to sleep. And so do I.
11:40am
DAD: Can you do my hands?
ME: What?
DAD: Can you do my hands?
ME: (pause) What?
DAD: Wash them with a wet washcloth.
ME: (getting up and grabbing a Wet One) Like this?
DAD: Yes. That’s what I needed.
11:55pm
DAD: My feet feel weird.
ME: (getting up and holding his hand) You need to relax.
DAD: (irritated) How can I relax when I haven’t “laxed” in the first place?
ME: (pause) Well, maybe you should think about word plays while you try to sleep. (pause) You need a stuffed animal.
DAD: (still irritated) What? A “black” animal?
ME: (louder) No, a stuffed animal.
DAD: I need a real animal.
ME: Get some sleep.
12:15am
DAD: (pops up suddenly to a sitting position and scares the wits out of me)
ME: What’s the matter?
DAD: I just can’t sleep.
ME: (getting up and holding his hand) I have to sleep. I can’t stay up all night talking to you or I will fall apart tomorrow.
DAD: I don’t want you to do that.
ME: Just sleep. I’ll be right here all night.
DAD: Ok.
12:30am
DAD: I have to go to the bathroom.
ME: (sigh) Ok.
DAD: I need a magazine and my glasses.
ME: Ok. (wheeling him to his bathroom)
DAD: (laughing) I guess if I can’t sleep, no one can sleep!
ME: Sshhh! Don’t wake up my sister. This is her night off! Here we are. I’ll be right outside. Call me when you’re done.
DAD: What?
ME: (louder) I’m right outside. Call me when you’re done.
DAD: Oh. Ok. (pause) Um…I need toilet paper!
ME: Ok.
DAD: I’m done. Now I need to wash my hands.
ME: Ok. (wheel him to one of two sinks on his counter)
DAD: What day did I go into the hospital?
ME: Thursday, January 17.
DAD: What day is it today?
ME: Sunday, January 27…very early Sunday morning. When you wake up, it will still be Sunday morning.
DAD: Oh.
ME: You’ve been home almost a week.
DAD: Oh.
ME: Are you going to wash your hands?
DAD: (pointing) Not this sink. I need that one.
ME: (rolling my eyes) It’s late. Can’t you use this one?
DAD: (stubbornly) But my soap’s at that one.
ME: (reaching across for the soap and plopping it down in front of him) Here’s your soap.
DAD: (pause) But this sink will get dirty.
ME: I’ll clean it tomorrow.
DAD: Fine. (pause) It’s funny…I never use this sink.
ME: Hmm. Done?
DAD: Yes.
ME: Let’s get you back to bed.
DAD: I just can’t seem to sleep.
ME: Do you want to read?
DAD: I don’t want to bother you.
ME: It won’t bother me if you’re quietly reading.
DAD: I don’t want to read.
ME: Ok. (getting him back to bed) Now, get some sleep, ok?
DAD: Ok. Thanks. (pause) You girls have really come through for me.
ME: Hmm.
1:31am
DAD: Can I have a cough drop? My mouth tastes funny.
ME: (getting up) Here’s one and I put a pile on your table.
1:40am
DAD: (scares the wits out of me when he accidentally clocks his leg into his bedside table.
1:45am
DAD: (knocks his box of tissues off his bedside table)
ME: (getting up to retrieve them from the floor.)
2:10am
DAD: (scares the wits out of me when he pops straight up in bed)
ME: (getting up to shift his feet over into the center of the bed so he doesn’t roll off the side)
2:25am
DAD: My feet are dangling off the edge of the bed. I need help.
ME: (getting up) Can’t you lift them up yourself? (placing them in the bed)
DAD: Oh.
2:45am
DAD: What was I trying to do?
ME: Sleep.
2:57am
DAD: (loudly) I’m starting to get a headache. (falls asleep)
3:15am
DAD: (popping straight up into a seated position, scaring the wits out of me.) I need a sleep aid.
ME: You already took one.
DAD: I did?
ME: Yes.
DAD: It’s not working.
ME: Yes, I know. (darkly) We’ll get you a stronger one tomorrow.
3:22am
DAD: (popping straight up into a seated position, scaring the wits out of me.)
3: 35am
DAD: (scares the wits out of me when he crashes his arm into his bedside table)
3:50am
DAD: (blowing his nose) Oh, that’s gross. (blows his nose three more times)
4:30am
DAD: (popping straight up into a seated position, scaring the wits out of me) I just can’t sleep. Sleep is not permitted.
ME: Do you want to read?
DAD: No. I guess I’ll just lie back down. (sleeps solid for the next three hours)
Oh Muddy, this make me want to laugh and tear up at the same time. I know you must be exhausted, but try and cherish these moments (as tiresome as they seem). You are doing an incredible job, being caretaker, daughter, AND mother. Well done
Thanks Rebecca! I couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry myself! Thanks for the chocolates…the perfect antidote to every rough night!
I helped my grandfather take care of my grandmother so I know some of what you are going through. It’s hard and painful to watch but hang in there. We’re here for you!
Thanks Tori!
This is some very solid, funny and accurate reporting form the front lines! Poignant and laugh-out-loud. You have a true gift for that balance in your writing. It’s special.
You’ve lived more than your fair share of these nights! : ) I bet you have some middle-of-the-night conversations you could share too!
This makes me so tired. I’m thinking about you and your sister. Take care of yourselves in those brief but much needed reprieves.
It made me tired too! I’m happy to report we got him some new meds and then upped the dosage. Nights are still not great, but they are much, much better!
was it wrong to laugh while reading….thanks for sharing so we can appreciate that you aren’t really on vacation when you see your dad but on duty….hope you get some sleep…
It is not wrong to laugh…in situations like these, all you can do is laugh. That’s why I’m so thankful to have you in my life…you always make me laugh! : )