No "Easy" Button to Push

Today has been a day of frustration. I've just spent 30 minutes trying to change the editing capabilities on my blog. The computer is user-friendly but only for those who know what they are doing. While many things in life are so easy we don't even notice, the challenging things can upset your whole day if you let them. The secret is, you can't let anything or anyone get to you. If only we knew how to do that.

This morning it was a cool 55 degrees and the sun had not yet come up when my golfing partner picked me up. My friend and I bantered back and forth about how crazy we were to leave warm beds to go out and beat ourselves up on the golf course. Neither of us played particularly well, but had enough good shots to make us want to play again tomorrow. Following golf our foursome went inside the clubhouse for a quick cup of soup. Unfortunately, the soup was too salty and had to be exchanged for something else. However, in the scheme of things, it wasn't a big deal. After all, we had just played 18 holes of golf in a beautiful setting, the weather did finally warm up, and we were not slaving at some dead-end job or at home dusting. Following lunch I went over to the home to visit mom.

Mom was not in very good shape. She was anxious and unhappy. I couldn't determine exactly what was bothering her but I sure did try to figure it out. Anyway, the aide said there was going to be a music event downstairs and suggested I take mom down for it. When we arrived, there were chairs set up but no action. We were informed it would not start for another 45 minutes. We went outside to get some sun but mom was too hot and it was too bright (we didn't have her sunglasses with us). It seemed no matter what I did, she wasn't happy. After much fussing and complaining we went back inside. I decided she needed a nap so I got the aide to help me get her into her lounge chair and off she drifted into a beautiful sleep. I amused myself for 45 minutes by writing in our journal and reporting to the aides that I had witnessed a roach the other day. They said the exterminator comes every month and were pretty non-plussed about it. Not a very satisfying response but then again, this is Florida where the bugs rule so one can't expect them to be alarmed. When it was time for the music show I woke mom up and told her we were going down for some music. This always makes her happy so she obliged by getting into her wheelchair without much fuss.

An hour later, there was still no music. The aides didn't know what was going on. Meanwhile, mom was very anxious and unhappy. I figured out she needed toileting. All of the aides were having a monthly meeting in the other room so I grabbed one and she and I helped mom to the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later she managed to relieve herself of her problem. The aide confided she had just found out that the musician had informed the office a month ago that he couldn't make the scheduled visit. Why then did no one inform the aides? They had gathered all of the residents together (which is no easy chore) and given them false hope of music entertainment. The aide and I were both frustrated at the lack of communication between administration and the workers. The temporary activities person started up a game of beach ball toss to bide the time away until the meeting was over. Mom and I "joined in" but she basically just sat there with an occasional bop to the ball. Finally, I had to leave to go to the hairdresser. Mom said, "I wish you didn't have to go".

Add a little guilt onto an already frustrating afternoon and I was toast... practically fell asleep in the chair while getting my hair cut. The good news of the day was my hairdresser is leaving for a shop in another town. I never liked the way she cut my hair and am relieved I can start over with someone new. That was one frustration I will no longer have. If I can just change the rest of the world and how it is run, frustration will be a thing of the past.