So that was Christmas

I didn’t quite manage to write enough blog posts to get me to Christmas, but December has been pretty good as blogging goes. Now as we reach the dying days of the year, all around people are looking back; over the week, over the year maybe even over the century so far for all I know. This is the time of year when whole TV programmes are devoted to reviewing what has been said and done and maybe over the coming weekend I’ll take a serious look back myself. Today though I am just thinking about the last week; the good and the bad.

Christmas is a time for being with families, actually for me that is the main thing about it (I am not getting into any kind of faith / religious stuff here) rather than what you give or what you receive in terms of presents. Trouble is some of the other people find that whole thing more of a chore or duty type thing. This led in our family to both my sisters in law kind of ‘playing up’ and showing off by having bickering episodes with their husbands and my mum their mother in law. This kind of thing happens every year and actually I just keep out of it, but it does make me long for spending my Christmas lying on an exotic beach miles away from them all.

With my own in laws I experienced a different kind of family Christmas, one spent visiting my husbands 96 year old granny in hospital. She was admitted on 23 December with an apparent urinary infection, much more confused than usual and scratching her carers at any opportunity. By Christmas Eve she had been rehydrated and was a little less confused and was reasonably comfortable (though I think constitpated) and I am pleased to say receiving some reasonable nursing and medical care.  Father in law though was struggling under the weight of responsibility and hubby and I went back to her home to get her some things for her hospital stay and then encouraged him to speak to the doctor and ward sister. Being busy on Christmas Eve unexpectedly like that meant that I had no opportunity to buy things I didn’t need, which was not an altogether bad thing. Hospital wards with sick and elderly people in them are not the most fun places, but as a glutton for fun we were back there on Wednesday (Boxing day in the UK). Granny looked to be on the mend (sitting out of bed and reasonably with it) but for some reason father in law’s only concern was what she had eaten for her Christmas dinner. He seemed unwilling to find out what was happening in terms of her medical condition and didn’t want me to ask either. This had me thinking, even though she is old she is still his mum and if he doesn’t ask there is no hope of getting news he doesn’t want. secondly it had hubby and I wondering if he preferred her in that hospital ward amongst other elderly people under constant supervision rather than in her own care home environment where she isn’t getting all the attention that she needs, though she is well cared for in terms of daily needs. This poor man finds himself at 73 with a son with motor neurone disease for whom he is the main carer, a wife who is increasingly frail though the same age as him and then his mum who he still has to worry about. Christmas is a time for families, but they are not always as they seem. Some of mine thinks they are pretty hard done by, but actually they are not, sadly they are too busy bickering and getting one up on each other to really know that!