Stress

I'm worried that something's not right with Mary. Maybe it's just that as her 94th birthday approaches, I'm getting nervous--sort of superstitious. She has been sleeping an exhorbitant amount lately. Of course, that could be the cough syrup. She's also been peeing a lot at night. (I really had to laugh at 4:30 this morning, the third time she'd gotten up, when it occured to me that she gets at least as much, if not more, exercise at night than during the day!) She's also been having accidents (I hate to spell it out, but--peeing in her pants.) lately. Of course, maybe she's not feeling well because she hasn't gotten all of her medications the last two mornings. I waited too long to reorder them and didn't realize that there weren't any refills, so the pharmacy had to call her doctor, which took several days. You'd think they would put a rush on things like that. Instead, it seems like they purposefully take their sweet time. And they don't call to let you know when they've filled the prescriptions. It's the biggest crock of BS, let me tell you! Well, they didn't have them when I went to pick up the rest of her prescriptions and it's not like I can get out every day... so I finally called Mom today and asked her if she'd pick them up for me. I hate to do that because she's got Dad to watch. But at least she can leave him alone for a little bit.

Then there's the problem with Mary's toe(s). She'd complained that her toes hurt, but I didn't see much wrong. The nail on the big toe seemed to be coming off. It had been rubbing against the skin of the next toe and so I put a band aid on it. We've also soaked her feet in epsom salts a few times, but I'm not sure if that's good or not. The last time she had a problem with a toenail, the doctor said to soak it in epsom salts for a few weeks. Well, her toes look swollen and a bit red. They're not hot, so there's no fever, which is a relief. The sore on the second toe looked nasty. I kept it uncovered today (cut a toe out of an old, mateless sock) so the air could get to it and put neosporin on it and it seemed to look better this evening. She swears that the big toe hurts her, but I can't see anything wrong. Her feet are the biggest mess. Angie says she was always vain and wore the most stylish shoes and wouldn't listen to anybody. Boy, you can really tell. Mary always says that somebody (she thinks it was her daddy) always said she had one toe goes East and the other going West. Her feet really look like pointy heels, like they've been molded into that shape just like the Chinese girls who had their feet bound.

Of course, Mary is probably eating up this attention. She takes the attention so much in stride. Like a queen. It's somehow equally annoying and yet satisfying. I mean, Anna is a big pain to do things for because it embarrasses her so much and Angie puts on such a show thanking you. No wonder Mary was married three times. She must have had a way with men.

Well, tomorrow's a holiday, so I can't call the doctor's office. I hate to take her back to the podiatrist. I didn't care much for them, their attitude toward Mary. Ok, I admit it, they didn't treat her like she was anything special and made her wait for forever and a day, which I think is awful. It's so tiring for her to wait. Plus, they called once and made an appointment with her and I never knew about it. Then when we didn't show up, they wanted to charge for the missed appointment. They did eventually agree not to charge, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. Also, they're impossible to reach. But...this doctor knows her.

If it's worse tomorrow, I may take her to the emergency room. What if she's turned diabetic on me while I wasn't looking (her doctor is afraid she'll become hypoglycemic) and has to have her toe amputated? It's going to be freezing cold tomorrow and I dont' want to have to take her. If you've ever been to an emergency room, you understand why. They make you wait for forever. Even if they take her in pretty quickly, she still has to lie on a very hard table in a freezing room for an eternity. It's very hard on her. Not to mention me!

I'm also stressed because I've just finished filling out a job application. It's for the university and they are such a pain to fill out. It's for a Library Assistant position. I don't have any experience, so I don't expect them to hire me. I've applied for at least 10 positions at the university and never get any answer back. I just don't get it. I think I would be a treasure of an employee. People are so stupid for not hiring me! On the other hand, if they don't want to hire me, then I certainly don't want to work for them. What would I do about Mary anyway? Well, do you see why I'm still single?