Keep it real Wednesday
Wednesday, June 25, 2019
Huh???
Yesterday, I was making breakfast for Rosemary. She was having a bowl of oatmeal, toast oozing with butter and homemade strawberry jam. I started a conversation about how she slept last night.
I said it once, she couldn’t hear me…
I said it again, she couldn’t hear me…
I said it a third time, and she still couldn’t hear me.
Then I shouted – she jumped as if I slapped her with my words and my heart broke. I excused myself and went into the bathroom and wept like a baby.
Who yells at an old woman and makes them jump? Apparently, me! I felt like the worst person on the planet.
Then, I pulled up my big girls pants and went into research mode because hiding in the bathroom forever was not a viable option.
Did you know that when elderly people lose their hearing they lose certain tones and decibels first? Research has identified that speech sounds with s, t, k, p and f have the highest frequencies and are more difficult to hear (so she really can’t hear me curse…)
Also, men’s voices sound clearer than women. It’s not that she likes to have conversations with some people more than others, it is just easier for her to hear certain voice frequencies.
Rosemary often listens to audio books with headphones and forgets when she is wearing them. So, when she asks a question wearing her headphones and I reply, it is a charades battle resulting in mutual frustration.
And to make matters worse, when you are legally blind like Rosemary, looking at someone when they are talking does not help her distinguish the words either.
So, I had a conversation with myself to buck up, Jill. This is not about you…. this is about your Mom.
I am working on thicker skin and a deeper voice.
I think I will go listen to some Barry White and practice.
