After what feels likes way too long being homebound and cut off from social activities, I’m venturing to HILR today and my last two classes of the semester.  I would not even do this but I enjoyed the classes so much, the first three anyway, and want to catch up and also say good-bye for the summer.  I also have a rehearsal for a very short play that will be/should be part of next week’s Black Box presentation.  Yes, we are a bunch of old people doing plays for one another.  I’ve miss a solid two weeks of rehearsals and missing today would have consequences.  I know lines and been rehearsing with one other actor on zoom; however, the business of scenes is still lacking.  

And I am not completely better.  I am tired and rather weak. Especially my voice.

But willing to try.

Julia now has a version of the Flu that felled me.  She is coughing and tired, but otherwise functioning.  Ah, what a difference 50 years makes.  I’ve loaded her with stuff to drink and cough drops. I hope she can just move through it without needing to be in bed. I remember being sick like that.  It was just a long time ago.

In the Julia accomplishments department . . . After months of practice, last week, Julia went up to the pharmacy counter at Walgreens and asked for a prescription herself.  Only the pharmacist, who knows her after months of practice (and truthfully everyone who works that counter knows her) and me could take in the glorious moment. 

It has been a long coaching—speaking loud enough to be heard through the plexiglass between pharmacist and customer, giving her name, her birth date, her address, answering whether it is okay to use the credit card on file, filling in my phone number on the credit card machine and then remembering to take the little package.  Each step needed to be learned, and considering that Julia takes 4 medications and I take 2,  and only occasionally are any of them synchronized, the opportunity to practice have been many.

Last week, still feeling pretty awful, I went down the aisle to pick up more cough drops and quite casually sent Julia to the pharmacy counter.  By the time I got to her, she had the asked for her prescription and given all the pertinent information. I hadn’t expected to ask her to do it alone just yet and this was a great opportunity.

I will try it again next week and one day, I will send her into the pharmacy alone while I wait in the car.  The biggest challenge there I see is that the pharmacy is in the way back of the store, past attractive aisles that always, always catch her eye. But I believe she will be able to fetch her own meds one day.

Amidst all the feeling sick and frustrated with my own limitations these days, this was such a ray of sun shine.