Talking House Repairs
Last week, Mom and I had an extended conversation about the care and upkeep of her house. Lyn was sitting there listening in. The conversation was spun off from some estimates my husband and I were reviewing for work on our own home.
Mom and I spoke about how the structure of her home is in good condition and she thinks that it will last at least another 10 years. The major systems in the house like the AC and electrical systems all seem to be in good working order. We talked about how she doesn't want to invest huge amounts of effort or resources into maintaining the house because she intends to move out of that house when her situation changes.
We weren't talking about the house. We both knew it. We were having a totally different conversation and the house was how we could talk about Lyn in front of Lyn in such a way that she wouldn't be be upset or angry. Or so we thought...
After the call was over, Lyn chastised Mom for talking about home repairs. She didn't figure out that we were talking in code. She was honestly irritated that we talked about home repairs. She felt discussing home repairs was "not appropriated." (She says "appropriated" instead of "appropriate.")
It may not have been appropriate, but Mom was trying to convey that she felt Lyn's body was holding up well despite the changes in her brain. I respectfully begged to differ on that point.
Mom and I spoke about how the structure of her home is in good condition and she thinks that it will last at least another 10 years. The major systems in the house like the AC and electrical systems all seem to be in good working order. We talked about how she doesn't want to invest huge amounts of effort or resources into maintaining the house because she intends to move out of that house when her situation changes.
We weren't talking about the house. We both knew it. We were having a totally different conversation and the house was how we could talk about Lyn in front of Lyn in such a way that she wouldn't be be upset or angry. Or so we thought...
After the call was over, Lyn chastised Mom for talking about home repairs. She didn't figure out that we were talking in code. She was honestly irritated that we talked about home repairs. She felt discussing home repairs was "not appropriated." (She says "appropriated" instead of "appropriate.")
It may not have been appropriate, but Mom was trying to convey that she felt Lyn's body was holding up well despite the changes in her brain. I respectfully begged to differ on that point.
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