the other side of the writing life
i am a full-time caregiver to my elderly grandparents. my grandfather is in pretty good health all things considered but my grandmother has COPD (that's chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). it's basically a breathing disorder. she was a very independent woman before she got sick and has had a hard time accepting such a drastic change in her life. i try to be sympathetic to her. but nothing seems to help. especially when she pines for a life she cannot have anymore. what's worse there's unresolved *crap* between my grandmother and my mother. it's obvious my grandmother doesn't care too much for my mother and really favors another daughter. i'm the daughter of a black sheep. she won't tell me or my mother how she feels she'll just mope around and tell people on the phone how miserable she is. and communication is a big no-no. my mother and i are big on talking but we're considered weird and trouble-makers for being that way. we can't afford to hire dr. phil for a day (i wish!) so we watch the situation crumble before our very eyes. if my grandmother ends up leaving to go live with the favored daughter (whom she lived with before) my mother and i can't help feeling that my grandmother gets off the hook. doesn't have to deal with anything, articulate her feelings or own up to anything. it's important to mention that my grandmother lived with the favored daughter before she came to live with me. we basically rescued her from an unhappy situation where she and my grandfather were going to be separated (she with the fave daughter and he in a nursing home) to one where they could stay together in the same house and be taken care of. now, she's wooing the enemy. sweet-talking the very people that tried to separate them in the first place. i've all but put my creative ambitions on hold. my grandmother comes from a time before a woman's dreams, aspirations might be something other than babies, a house and a good beef roast. just curious what other writers' daily lives are like. p.s. sorry for the rant.
i am a full-time caregiver to my elderly grandparents. my grandfather is in pretty good health all things considered but my grandmother has COPD (that's chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). it's basically a breathing disorder. she was a very independent woman before she got sick and has had a hard time accepting such a drastic change in her life. i try to be sympathetic to her. but nothing seems to help. especially when she pines for a life she cannot have anymore. what's worse there's unresolved *crap* between my grandmother and my mother. it's obvious my grandmother doesn't care too much for my mother and really favors another daughter. i'm the daughter of a black sheep. she won't tell me or my mother how she feels she'll just mope around and tell people on the phone how miserable she is. and communication is a big no-no. my mother and i are big on talking but we're considered weird and trouble-makers for being that way. we can't afford to hire dr. phil for a day (i wish!) so we watch the situation crumble before our very eyes. if my grandmother ends up leaving to go live with the favored daughter (whom she lived with before) my mother and i can't help feeling that my grandmother gets off the hook. doesn't have to deal with anything, articulate her feelings or own up to anything. it's important to mention that my grandmother lived with the favored daughter before she came to live with me. we basically rescued her from an unhappy situation where she and my grandfather were going to be separated (she with the fave daughter and he in a nursing home) to one where they could stay together in the same house and be taken care of. now, she's wooing the enemy. sweet-talking the very people that tried to separate them in the first place. i've all but put my creative ambitions on hold. my grandmother comes from a time before a woman's dreams, aspirations might be something other than babies, a house and a good beef roast. just curious what other writers' daily lives are like. p.s. sorry for the rant.