Dirty Jobs

Around Christmas, belle-mere had what we’ve decided is a spider bite on her side that got all infected and gross. I won’t go into the details, but suffice it to say that, once the doctor had gotten all up in there and done what she could, there was some daily maintenance to be done. As it was the holidays, there were some options for getting that maintenance that were a lot less available. So it fell to us.

Now, as medical indignities go, this was not a big deal. But it was a useful trial run, as I learned a few things.

1) My beloved will fink out of these things if you let him.
2) I let him.

So there it is. These things are on me. OK, noted.

Now, Beloved and I are not scorekeepers. We really aren’t. And neither of us is too precious to do the dirty jobs of this world. It’s not that.

But the earth just shifted a little in terms of my responsibility
Or, to put it another way, my credibility,
Or, to put it another way, my AUTHORITY (yeek) vis-a-vis my beloved in belle-mere matters. All fun and games now, but in the future…

Which is why I am very glad that I learned one last thing.

3) Belle-mere is a perfect patient.

She’s very frank and matter-of-fact. She doesn’t catastrophize, but she reads up. She’s not afraid to ask for what she needs. She faces these things with good humor.