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first year - Feb. 13, 2014 - Feb. 12, 2015 - now in year five - Feb. 14 - today!
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Monologue Mania Day # 1796-1797 A Busy Day (for Caregivers Anonymous) by Janet S. Tiger (c) Jan. 24-25, 2019
for Caregivers Anonymous
for Caregivers Anonymous
Caregivers Anonymous -
-is the recipient of a San Diego Foundation Creative Catalyst Program Fellowship grant -was first sponsored by Playwrights Project and
-has a website now - CaregiversAnon.org
For other monologues from Caregivers Anonymous, please see Days # 268, 270, 271, 273, 284, 285, 286, 314, 317, 380, 412, 444, 454, 455, 456, 473, 474, 475, 476, 483, 484, 513, 514, 566, 569, 666, 692, 702, 714, 777, 778, 782, 783, 797, 802, 812, 813, 820, 869, 874, 881, 889, 903, 917, 1422, 1423,1498, 1519 and today's 1520
A Busy Day
A monologue by Janet S. Tiger
(c) January 24-25, 2019 all rights reserved tigerteam1@gmail.com
(c) January 24-25, 2019 all rights reserved tigerteam1@gmail.com
(The woman comes out, she will be busy throughout this monologue)
I am up early as always. Preparing food.
And preparing for a doctor's appointment. Not for me, for my husband. My appointments are far away, in a distant month.
Often re-scheduled due to emergencies. But I digress.
So - prep for breakfast, and getting ready for the day.
My husband has a simple breakfast - tea, oatmeal and raisins, the oatmeal has to be measured out so he gets enough calories. He is diabetic - we have to be very careful monitoring his food so he doesn't lose too much weight. I have to remember to have out his silverware, glass, napkin, etc.
Am already a bit tired, and the day is young.
I do his glucose reading - then the drops for his eyes.
His tea, and his meds - vitamins, several others for his cholesterol, etc. No insulin, thank God, his diabetes is well managed.
After breakfast, clean up.
Do I eat? In between! Always in between
Then to get ready for the doctor's appointment.
Taking care of his feet is time-consuming and painstaking.
Several of his diabetic wounds have re-opened, requiring extra debriding. So this is 15-30 min a day now, sometimes 2 and 3 times a day.
Shaving, dressing, getting his things ready for dr.
They pick him up for appointment
While he is at his appointment I call other doctors to make other appointments.
This is a time consuming event, too,
since he will probably be having a procedure soon.
But there are other appointments - for his eyes, feet.
And they have to be juggled with my father's appointments.
So, time-consuming. How much time? Should I look at the phone? Does waiting for their calls back count? Since I am also doing laundry while waiting?
Changing the bedding, making the bed.
Two loads in the machine, no three, his socks need a wash, too.
Each item of time - is it part of the caregiving or just part of a day?
Days that never seem to end.
He returns from the doctor's appointment - he was two hours away, yet I was doing caregiving duties for much of that time.
Including getting lunch ready.
(and dealing with my father who calls to discuss his VA appointment tomorrow)
Lunch, then clean up, then outside for exercise. He does a lot - this is very good. But....each year, he is able to do less. Maybe the procedure on his artery will help and he will be able to do more. I prefer to focus on that than the other possibilities.
Why am I tired? Not one of the things I have to do is hard. Not even the worrying. All of these chores take only a few minutes.....what are they worth?
The day proceeds. Somehow, it is almost dinner. I have spent a little time on a writing project- 30 minutes maybe....did I squeeze in one hour for me? A walk, yes, that, too. Is that caregiving if it's to take care of me?
Do I count?
Then we get to dinner, and getting that ready and cleaned up (an hour, hour and a half- the time flows like a river) which means prep for the next day.
The beans are washed and set on the stove to soak for the night. In the morning, I will wash them again, then prep for cooking, but I'm getting ahead of myself, kind of like a preview for a hit TV show - Caregivers of San Diego County!
Bedtime means washing up, checking the feet, making sure all is ready for a safe night. And so it ends, another day of caregiving. I thank God for the opportunity to be able to help - for I would rather be the person helping, than the one in the wheelchair getting help.
I am keeping track of what I do because I am doing a survey on caregiving - and the money they give me, I plan to use it well - on a vacation...for me! But for today......today is now over.
And tomorrow is another day -at Tara.....oh, wait, I saw this movie before. Or maybe I'm just watching the rerun.......Night!
(She does not exit, but remains onstage, head lowered for some sleep, until
the whole monologue repeats....and repeats....and repeats....and repeats...like two
mirrors facing each other until something happens and one of them breaks.....)
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* Note: A few words about 'free' - all these monologues are protected under copyright law and are free to read, free to perform and video as long as no money is charged. Once you charge admission or a donation, or include my work in an anthology, you need to contact me for royalty
Janet S. Tiger 858-736-6315 CaregiversAnon.org
Member Dramatists Guild since 1983
Playwright-in-Residence
Swedenborg Hall 2006-8
