It has been a while since my last post and life with Mother has been busy as usual. Since that 'awful morning' when she didn't know me, I followed the advice of a dear friend and prayed that Mother would never forget her children and significant others. Mother loved the reassuring prayers on settling each night and has steadily improved.
We went through summer and are now heading into autumn. The only incidents over summer were a heat rash that appeared in her folds that didn't respond to the usual anti fungal creams. In the end I used a general antibiotic for common skin bugs and instructed the carers to use an antibacterial liquid soap under her folds and thank God her rash cleared! I then thought about how Mother had managed to get through hot weather in the past without the same problems. She had, in her wisdom, used deodorant under her folds. I re-instituted this routine and the rash has stayed away :)
Mother turned 88yrs old last week. It was a week day and to make the day special I decided to arrange afternoon tea with Mother's great-grand children that were available to come. I remembered one,a three year old saying to her mother one morning, on her sister's birthday that "she wasn't 5 yet because she hadn't blown her candles out on her birthday cake!" So I thought I would use this symbolism to impress the children (2yrs to 9yrs old) how old great-grandma was by putting 88 candles on her cake.
Well it turned out to be quite dramatic. Without realising the cumulative effects of so many candles, I innocently began lighting them. They were burning fast by the time I finished lighting and I even had to get my husband's help to speed up the lighting process. By the time they were all lit and I began carrying the cake across to where Mother was sitting, the flames were getting over 10cm high. I began to worry as I felt the heat and saw her 'Happy Birthday' decoration catch alight! It was fully burnt up by the time I got to Mother, frantically asking for help to blow the candle 'fire' out. I noted the girls all withdrew and my grandson's (5 & 9 yrs old) long with my husband came to the rescue and blew the candles out. Mother had looked apprehensive as the cake arrived, but thoroughly enjoyed the bit of drama. The cake top was uneatable with candle wicks left sticking out of a melted wax and plastic mess. Luckily I had bought another cake that was Mother's favorite. The birthday cake was chosen for size to accommodate all the candles. A great time was had by all.
