Buckle up, folks! It’s gonna be one of those series of posts where I walk you through my travels. Unlike my usual process, where I post about the previous day as I go, I will be posting on the morning of, and not necessarily every day. A true fact of life is that eventually we reach a point where life begins to take away more than it gives. This is inevitable and we all get there. Like the passing of the seasons where a tree eventually sheds its leaves to make way for something new in the spring, the process of life can’t be denied.
Lately, it almost feels as though life has been doing everything to knock me in the danglers. Not only has the Canada Revenue Agency identified an error a certain green-themed tax prep company made on my tax return, resulting in my owing a significant amount of money back to the government, i recently managed to slice open my thumb with a chef’s knife, resulting in four stitches and the limited use of my thumb for the next few weeks. And if all of that, on top of my daily work-related duties and familial duties, my mother has recently lost a significant portion of her mental clarity, leaving her in need to constant care.
That brings us to today… I’m currently sitting in the secure area of the Regina International Airport, patiently awaiting the boarding of my flight, which will take me back to New Brunswick for the following week to go settle up my mother’s affairs. I thank the light for the assistance of S family members back home, who were able to facilitate having my mother admitted into the same nursing home as my father so that they could be together. Over the course of the next week, I will be dealing with my mother’s personal effects, including but not limited to selling her vehicle and trying to sort through what needs to be shipped to Saskatchewan or what I’ll drag back with me in a suitcase.
This trip will also be a unique opportunity to spend some time with my parents, as I’m arriving in a rare instance where the nursing home has no visitation conditions due to COVID-19, nor is there a time limit. This means that for the first time in several years, I’ll be able to spend time with my father without interruption. We usually go through life while rarely considering the issues that will begin to emerge towards the end of it. I became significantly aware of this when I was called on Thursday about my father falling out of bed. Apparently, this happens quite frequently and the protocol is to call an immediate family member to advise them, even if no injury has occurred.
Without taking a throne or staking a claim, I have somehow become the patriarch of my family. The pressures and responsibilities this carries are not lost on me, and makes me worry about the future, both familial and financial, given that this likely won’t be the last rushed trip to New Brunswick in my near future. This trip will be bitter-sweet; the opportunity o see friends and family while simultaneously trying to deal with two parents of limited function and mental capacity. Never one to lose an opportunity, I’ll be curious to see what lessons life will provide over the course of the next week. I’ll keep y’all posted… ☯️
The Blogging Buddhist 