Pleasant day. Got our first Christmas card from my friend, Karen C.--she always gets hers out early. The PT came to assess Pat; she's very nice and will come in twice a week. Got a call from the OT and she'll come next week. Old George stopped in to say hello about 3:30. I left to meet Vivian at 5:00, stopping first to pick up my BP prescription and get a new battery for my small clock.
Great time with Vivian, as ever. It's oh, such a relief to talk openly about our sometimes shitty lives as caregivers and not have to deal with uncomprehending people who spout cliches, especially "I hope he's better soon." (Do they think he's a chameleon? You don't regenerate lungs.) "You're so strong." (Sez who?) "But are you taking care of yourself?" (Everybody seems to think they're being weightily original with that one--little do they know that nine out of ten ask this inane question.) And here's the kicker that makes me want to punch the well-meaning person right in her well-meaning face (it's invariably a woman): "You must be very special to have been given such a burden" or even worse, "God only gives you what you can handle" and variations thereof.
Okay, enough of that. Here's a wider note to ponder with alarm:
"The Real News" has a piece the secret posse comitatus the government has approved. This means combat troops can be used to, among other things, put down "civil unrest," which the president can define anyway he chooses. And that suggests the first steps toward a true police state. Our peaceful little anti-war vigils in Absecon could be dispersed at gunpoint, I guess.
Oh, but don't worry. Go back to your iPod and boob tube and pay no attention to what's behind the curtain...