February 2 – “A groundhog-ish day”

We had a little scare last night.  Well, at least I did.  Chris’ reaction wasn’t nearly as … reactive as mine was.  In fact she said she hasn’t seen me move that fast in a long time.  And what caused my rapid exodus from the friendly confines of our bed out of an already fitful sleep?  We heard … a rather distinctive noise from the main bathroom. 

Now, under normal circumstances the noise could have been reasonably attributed to almost anything, right?  A stray rat.  A random roach or two … hundred.  Gravity sucking one of the pictures to the floor.  Even a perturbed ghost or a rampant demon would have been a possibility.  But not this time.  See, we had already heard the distinctive creaks and groans emanating from Mom’s bed, followed by the shuffling, shuffling that was her footsteps, slowly making a path down the hall.  The slight creak of the bathroom door that indicates she actually remembered its location this time and would not be distracted by a search through the kitchen utensils or impeded by an unmoving bookcase that she can’t seem to make her way around.  This time she was there, at the bathroom door.  And its creak was followed by … not the usual continued shuffle and telltale silence that assures us she has made her way onto the toilet.  This time only a brief pause.  And then … a crash.

I leapt from the bed in an instant, and Chris was not far behind.  I think she was already up, heading to her usual task of making sure Mom was situated and safe and returned to her bed.  We raced to the bathroom.  I just knew we would find Mom on the floor, and I could only imagine the possible injuries she might have.  What bruises would be added to the ones she already sported from her dental surgery?  But when I reached the bathroom, the door was slowly closing, and the shuffling was beginning anew.  With great relief, I turned to Chris and said, “I just knew she had fallen.”  And Chris responded, “She managed to catch herself against the wall.”  Ah, such a simple explanation. 

Sleep didn’t come easily after that.  I returned to my crossword puzzle book.  I think it was well after midnight before my racing heart calmed enough to turn the light off again and try to get a few hours of sleep.  Chris managed to doze off much quicker than I did.  She has become quite accustomed to the process.  The nurse in her is very strong, not to mention her intense love for my mother.  What an amazing woman.  I woke a little after five to find that once again, at some point in the night, Chris had taken up her vigil in our spare bedroom across from Mom’s.  She wanted me to get some sleep before a meeting I have this morning.  I knew I had had all I would get, at least for the time being, so I headed into my office and began journaling. 

Mom just made her way into the office, having missed the bathroom door.  And Chris was shadowing right behind her, gently prodding her in the right direction, then waiting to lead her back to her burrow for a time, at least.  And so another day begins. 

But wait a minute.  Those last few sentences sound vaguely appropriate somehow.  Shadow.  Back to her burrow.  What day is today, anyway?

Psalms 63:6-8 says, “On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.  Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.  My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.”

Father, thank you for being our help in the watches of our night.  Amen.