Tuesday with Vera

Posted on 2008/10/25 11:02:46 (October 2008).

[Tuesday 21st October]
Another day in Abergavenny, looking after Vera.

We decided we should try and get out of the house again in the morning - just a trip to the Post Office in the town centre. She seemed pretty fine to start with, but then after the Post Office Vera thought we should also pop in and say hello to the staff of the charity shop where she sometimes works, and whilst in there she began to feel quite unwell. So we came straight back home.

Again Vera managed to eat well at lunch, but her mood was at a definite low until she took the magic little blue pill. Whilst on the one hand it is an absolute delight to see Vera spring pretty much to her normal self we're also obviously fairly concerned that this cycle could turn into a dependency.

My Aunt offered to take over taking care of Vera in the daytime from tomorrow onwards, so I went back to London tonight. Whilst I am obviously quite concerned about Vera's health I had actually found spending two days looking after her to be a very comforting experience. For one thing it is reassuring to be close at hand when someone is unwell rather than at the other end of the phone. Moreover though, at work I am constantly pulled in five directions at the same time, never 100% sure if I'm working on the right thing or not, and I have this constant sense that there is something really important that I'm not getting done. These two days were such a contrast to that, and it was oddly quite relaxing to be able to feel that there was nothing more important in the world than making sure Vera had everything she needed and was as comfortable as she could possibly be.

I got the train back to London around 7. Whilst waiting for the train at Abergavenny station I got talking to a Canadian girl who was a little concerned as she was going to the back of beyond (somewhere like Milford Haven) to meet friends of hers who had a boat there, but wasn't sure if they were actually still there, or if she'd be able to find any accommodation open as it would be quite late by the time she arrived. It occurred to me I had my laptop and 3G card with me, so amazingly we were able to get on the Internet on the platform of an otherwise deserted station. She checked her email, and even found some accommodation in Milford Haven, although it eventually transpired (on checking her mail a second time) that her ship had already sailed, so to speak. So after having already boarded the train she decided she wasn't going to Milford Haven, but was instead heading for Penzance. There was no way she'd get all the way down there by train tonight, so I recommended she spend the night in Cardiff instead.

Anyway, that was quite a fun encounter - and I was quite envious at someone being able to just head to a station like that with no real fixed idea of where they were headed for. Ah, to be young again...

I got back home around 10. It has been quite a while since I've spent a couple of nights away from Chie, so it was really good to see her again.

That "oh to be young again" bit almost killed me... :(

Posted by Lox at 2008/10/26 02:29:11.

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