A couple of days ago as I was testing out the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in the house by plugging in the heater into an outlet, we realized that I hadc melted the outlet and it had to be replaced. It seemd like a fairly simple job as I just had to strip away the wire a bit and hook it back up. Except that I am not really strong enough to cut through the wire and right now I am not sure if I have the manual dexterity to strip away the sheathing, Luckily Mel is loved by her father and he came over this morning to help change out the outlet. Over the last year Mel’s parents have done a lot as I struggle with some of the easiest things that I use to do. I had cleared the way a bit to do the work but I am not sure if this is the day for me to do it, We had slept in a bit this morning and I did not actually feel too bad. My weight has increased slightly from a couple of days ago, but it is within normal range and not ascites build up range. When I was talking to the nurses last week though, if I have the drain in there permanently then it requires a bit of taping i think. This time I had told them and they used the sensitive tape and it worked out well. Yesterday when the motor had broken down, they went to a family relative close by and exchanged the broken motor for one that they had working. Our families help each other out whenver we can and it is quite appreciated. I had always wanted to buy the Sherp UTV, but Mel thinks it is a bit too expensive for an amphibious vehicle. This reminds me of the time I wanted to buy a Lotus Elise for our first family car. They are both practical solutions.
Growing up we can be difficult for our parents and when I think of things that Mel and I did as kids, we are in for a treat. Mel was argumentative as a kid and still is now as an adult. Xavier takes after her and loves to argue about the most trivial thing. This morning he was arguing that he had more chores than Olivier and we agreed with him and laid out why. Mel use to argue that it was unfair and Xavier is now as well, but Mel is trying to balance it out with more age appropriate tasks. The issue is that the argument of you are bigger or stronger does not seem to hold much weight with Xavier. He thinks that his brother should be doing more physical activities and likes to compare between what each of them did at their respective ages. He did acknowledge that Olivier is stronger when compared to the same age as Xavier has been scrawny. We had told Xavier that 11 was a bit young for mowing the lawn as he could not physically do it and we reminded Xavier that he struggled with it at that age as well. It was quite the amusing conversation and ended when Mel asked him what he wanted for a resoklutio and he could not come up with one. We had the kids help make gnocchi for dinner and Xavier always tries to make everything a competition, but Olivier did not take the bait. Olivier did say something that amused me though, when Xavier said that the gnocchi tasted like potatoes and we were talking about mashed potatoes. Olivier told his brother that mashed potatoes are always delicious except when they are not. It is the kind of stupid remark that I would give and it amused me that Olivier said it. Xavier often says this is pretty not bad when he experiences something and we ask him how it is. I am sure that these types of responses are going to drive Mel crazy in the future.
After dinner Olivier told Mel that if I could not cook that the family would be eating a lot of soup as that is what Mel generally makes in the house. Xavier replied that he could help cook for the house and Olivier then realized that he can cook as well. Managing energy levels today was rather interestihg as I started off the day tired and I knew that my taste buds were shot. The taste of water right now is very off-putting, it tastes bitter, metallic and it is not a great experience at all. I put a bit of Tang in it to help offset those flavours. Yesterday coconut water was atrocious, but it seems to be ok now as that is my go to drink. i have to move around and try and be a bit active as it helps me feel not as tired, so while Mel’s father was fixing the outlets I was in the main area and I started to feel better. Breakfast consisted of yogurt, which we do not always have in the house because the kids will devour the container in 1 or 2 sittings. Originally I was going to eat panna cotta for breakfast, but Olivier found some yogurt in the fridge downstairs. Second breakfast was eating the fresh mozzarella that Olivier had made yesterday and then afterwards I took my first nap of the day. I had to conserve energy as i knew that gnocchi was going to be tiring and i had decided to make a marinara sauce this morning prior to bed. While making pasta with the kids we realized that we did not have enough for lunch and had to make more. This time instead of the kids being voluntold, Mel did the majority of it. The kids are starting to help out more and they do not complain when we ask them to, but they still need some careful monitoring. Mel told Olivier to put some things in the washer, but she forgot to tell him to start the machine. As we finished dinner I told Mel that I was done and went it to rest in the warmth of my room. I think that today that i am on the verge of over-exertion and I am riding that fine line. As I took my shower I could feel the cold and aches in my core and bones even as the hot water cascaded over me. This is more related to physical fatigue though as i was standing in the kitchen cooking for a while. Overall today was a good day even though I am tired.
QHM