A little respite

Mother (and father until he passed away 3 years ago) have lived in our basement for over 20 years. She now spends most of her time upstairs with us. For some reason she doesn't always like to be in the same room with us, so she will sit just outside the office where I spend most of my days working and every so often she'll ask "are you there?" I'm pretty laid back and I let her do as much as possible for herself. We go through most days rather peacefully.

Last week my husband and I took our son and his friends on a little vacation. Isis took mother to stay at her home the day before. All through that day I would sigh in relief every few minutes, as I realized I was off duty and didn't have to check on mother. I didn't realize how much the responsibility had weighed on me. I needed that break.

Meanwhile here is what happened at Isis' house:

"My cell phone rings at 5:20 am, I automatically switch into emergency response mode...no one would be calling at that time unless it is urgent. I look at the phone and see that it is Mother calling. Her room is about 30ft from mine so if she is calling it must be BAD. I race to her bedside and find her calmly sitting on her bed with the bedside table lamp on. I ask what is wrong, she replies that she needs me to turn off the lamp because she can't figure out how to do it. I become angry because she has awakened me so early on what will be a difficult work day. I yell at her that if she can figure out how to turn on the lamp, she should be able to turn it off too. I go bad to bed feeling awful at my outburst and pray to find compassion." Isis