Doctor's Appointment.

So I took took my grandma to a doctor's appointment this morning at Virginia Mason. I picked her up at 10 AM and I was even there a little early, which is a big deal for me! She was ready and waiting in the lobby for me to come and collect her. We made our way to Virginia Mason, valet parked, and checked in at reception.

So her appointment was at 10:40 and we arrived at our designated waiting area at 10:30. We waited until 11:15 until they took her away to have her eyes dilated, but then the doctor didn't even see her until 11:45 or so. There were so many moments where my grandma kept saying, "I am going to go and complain to them...this is not normal. I have never waited this long." But then I would convince her to stay in her seat informing her that the doctor would get to her as soon as he could get to her.

But I even found myself getting a little antsy, and I took it upon myself to inquire about the status of her appointment. I mean how long can you make an old person wait before it becomes inhumane?? I mean I was perfectly fine entertaining myself, but my grandma, on the other hand, wasn't. I mean the woman can't see all that well already, and then with her eyes all dilated there was absolutely no chance of her reading any of the magazines that were lying beside her.

So then I suppose she just figured I would be her entertainment, which was fine, but slightly different than what I had envisioned. I mean I had envisioned that I would take my grandma to her appointment, and while I was waiting FOR her I would be able to read, email, make some phone calls, etc., etc. I envisioned I would be able to get quite a bit done right? Well what I didn't envision was how much time I would spend waiting WITH my grandma.

And bless that woman's heart because she wanted to make the most of our time together and she was drilling me...oops I mean asking me all sorts of questions - questions that she has asked me time and time again, questions that I know she knows the answer to, or perhaps she simply assumes that the answers may have changed in a week's time? She was asking me about my job, Peter's job, our house, our future together, and our future children. She wanted to know my thoughts on medicare, the current health care system, politics, religion, etc, etc. No topic was too big for her today or come to think of it no topic is ever too big for her.

And normally I would welcome these hot topic conversations. And normally I would ask questions and encourage the conversation because I love the way we challenge each other, but today was a different day. I found myself slightly annoyed by her overwhelming interest in my life. I found myself sitting in my chair praying for patience as she was going on ...and on...and on. I found myself slightly upset considering alot of her questions remained unanswered and I was once again reminded of the place of uncertainty that I find myself in.

But as our outing came to a close, I couldn't help but think about how selfish I had been with my time. And I found myself thinking that my love for my grandma had grown even deeper after experiencing a day in the life of Nancy Moores. Life for her isn't easy and the smallest tasks are exceptionally hard. And the woman is tired...tired of growing old...tired of the pain...tired of having poor eyesight...tired of not being able to hear...tired of feeling as though she is a burden...tired of waiting on the doctor, on the nurse, on death.

And you know what...I can't blame her for feeling that way, but what I can do is listen and truly cherish our time together because one of us will eventually outlive the other and our time together on this Earth won't last forever. 

Can't wait for the next appointment!