We are settling back into routines in Rockpit, Alaska (Arthur’s name for our “neighborhood” at 8-9 mile Port Saint Nick Rd).
Yesterday Arthur and I had a doctor’s appointment at SEARHC (the main clinic on the island), with his GP. Arthur has been complaining of an occasionally severe jaw/ear ache, since last week down in Oregon. So we got it checked out, plus doing a follow-up on the visit with audiologists down there.
The doctor’s prognosis, based on some looking around and poking and prodding, is that it’s likely just arthritis (of the jaw). Anyway, there’s no evidence of infection or dental problems, so that’s good. Given Arthur suffers severe arthritis in other parts (shoulders, knees, etc.) this makes sense to me. But Arthur clearly isn’t happy about it when it flares up. Arthur is a person who I associate with “stoic disregard” for personal discomfort, so seeing Arthur as someone who increasingly complains of pains and frustrations is very difficult for me – and often there’s very little I can do, anyway, so it’s doubly frustrating.
Since getting the new hearing aids (that actually work pretty well), I’ve noticed a new, difficult pattern: when he’s wearing them, he quickly becomes grumpy, more easily frustrated, even lashing out in anger. After having his hearing aids in during the doctor visit yesterday, he accused me of removing (stealing?) his chocolate (which he keeps stockpiled in his bag that he carries). This is one of those moments of distrust that are very painful for me to experience. “Why would I take your chocolote?” I protested. “You probably ate it or misplaced it.” He became quite angry. “It’s not here.”
When I was able to stop the car, I pulled open his bag and literally pulled out a bar of chocolate almost effortlessly – he often has several stashed in multiple pockets of the bag. He seemed offended, as if I’d pulled some kind of unfair magic trick on him. “Where was that?!”
“Just here, in the bag,” I indicated the pocket I’d pulled it out of. He flounced angrily and was silent for the rest of the time in town.
This is very difficult for me. I keep saying that. Well anyway.
In other news, my mom is apparently doing okay down in the nursing home. We get encouraging messages from her friends, often. I like that. Unfortunately, some bad news on the bureaucratic side, on that front. Seems that my mom’s social security payments – which she gets as a US citizen (she has dual citizenship), deposited directly to her bank account each month – have stopped. I can’t help but wonder at the timing of this, given the current musking about in the US Treasury. Sigh.
The store is quite overwhelming to me. I have to get “caught up” on the framing projects, move forward with bookkeeping transitioning to our new accountant, and continue to stay on top of inventory and other expenses while trying to at least break even during the slowest period of the year. I’m not sure I’m constitutionally cut out to be a business owner.
I’m hoping it DOESN’T warm up this weekend, too much – because that will make our road slippery and unpleasant to drive. Just cold ice and packed snow at -5 C or lower is easy to drive on.
