April 9, 2018. Madison, Mississippi. A Simple Life.

Today I wore my night shirt all day. Actually, I am wearing Ken's new night shirt, given to him for Christmas from David and Suzanne. It is made of flannel so is warm and is plaid so is bright and cheerful, so even though folks came and went all day, I stayed in my nightshirt and pretended this was normal. Our life here in Mississippi is simple. This morning the electrician came to add outlets in the TV room and to fix the outlets he installed last Thursday, which did not seem to work. He came back again to fix them. I laughed because in order to make the outlets work, you were required to flip the switch at the door. No one thought of that. The helpers at night switched plugs all weekend. He changed the system. Keeps us humble not to connect the dots. Then the physical therapist came to work with Ken. He always does well when the therapist is here. Something to do with confidence. Then Chantes came to finish the door when he installed the ramp, which works beautifully. So I chatted with him for a bit. Ken took a nap late in the morning and another one late in the afternoon. Ken ordered 4 more bird feeders, which arrived today. It was the highlight of the afternoon. Tomorrow, April will help Ken to set them up, if the bird seed arrived early. I did laundry and unloaded the dishwasher. And I organize lunch and dinner for both of us. The helpers prepare Ken's breakfast, today eggs on toast. Most mornings I read and in the afternoon reply to e mails. I try not to sit in one place for long so I alternate reading with doing chores. Most days I walk in the neighborhood, but not today. Ken walks outside on the driveway and often sits in the sun in the chair on his walker. Soon he will venture onto the street. And tonight we, along with Bettye the helper, watched Antique Roadshow. Diane left this morning, so our home seems quiet and lonely. But we stayed busy so enjoyed our simple, quiet day, which is a good thing, because tomorrow we will probably have another one.