The light bulb needs replacing. The floor needs mopping. Clothes need washing. Dishes need cleaning. Same with the stove and refrigerator. Don’t forget the windows; they should be cleaned, and the screens vacuumed or washed down.
These are simple tasks. Recurring and necessary acts of living.
Until they become unmanageable. That happens with injury, illness and age. Simple tasks become large ones; maybe even impossible.
Our low tire pressure warning light flashes on our dash. I know it is because outdoor temperatures are far below freezing, and tire pressure drops with the temperature. The dashboard indicates the psi is 27 and 28 for all four tires. They don’t look soft, but they require 35 psi to operate properly. Getting to a gas station, positioning the car correctly, pulling out quarters to operate the tire pump, then stooping to uncap the tire valve stems, and operate the pump properly, becomes very difficult to perform. Recapping the valve stem, moving on to each of the tires, only extends the difficulty.
So the tire pressure remains low until I visit the dealer for other service and hope he doesn’t charge me a fee to service the tires.
The guest closet/pantry light is burned out. The light fixture is 10 feet overhead. The fixture lens cover needs to be removed and the florescent bulbs removed. Number of bulbs and their wattage needs to be determined. Then a trip to the hardware store to buy the right tubes. Returning home to install the tubes is the final act but that requires a step ladder, an overhead install of the tubes and finally reinstalling the lens cover. This task ends with the thought of a step ladder.
The guest closet/pantry light remains burned out. We learn to find items by feel and in shadows.
Housework we do carefully, one day at a time. just like my parents did before they died, just like all our elders before us. We learn to live with limitations. It is a natural part of life and its rigorous order.
The inconvenience is tolerated because our recliners await our next nap. On balance, it is a good life!
Best we count our blessings and accept what we cannot change. And realize the little things matter.
November 15, 2019
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