Day 2 - Solo dining and a letter.

Tried, and failed to be a good Oyomesan...but not my fault.

Okaasan has eaten alone for two days, since we were out Wednesday night and I was working Thursday night.
That means she hasn't had a conversation longer than a few words with anyone for 2 days either.

Okaasan's lunch things waiting for me at 5 pm.....

So, last night I was home and cooking. Made a delicious pork/potato/miso soup, and equally delicious rice with little scallops in it, plus saute mushrooms. All great.
Okaasan came home about 6.20 pm and sat watching Tv surrounded by magazines, newspapers and convenience store and bread shop plastic bags...

At 7 pm I called her in for dinner. But she looked uninterested.
"I've only just come back and sat down, I'm not ready for dinner yet. What time is it? What time is dinner? I've just come back..I'll wait and have dinner when Yujiro is home...he's in Tokyo???!!! Why...for job training....????...."

Sigh. But. Yippee. I can have dinner alone.
So I sat at the kitchen table and read the newspaper and ate the delicious dinner.
Two meters away Okaasan sat in her room watching TV. I hoped she might hear the sounds of chopsticks on bowls and come and join me...but no.
Ironically - in the paper I read a really interesting story about a documentary called "Everyday is Alzheimer's" (Mainichi ga Alzheimer), it was made by a Japanese woman who came back from living in Australia to care for her mother. You can find bits of the movie on YouTube and I think there have been some public showings too - looks interesting.

After eating I washed up the cooking stuff and my plates and put hot food for Okaasan into the lunchtime flasks, she was still watching TV. I told her that dinner was on the table anytime she wanted...and left her to it.

:-( A pity really. I hoped to give her some mental stimulation over dinner. But I think she'd eaten something out, or brought home bread and snacks - so of course...not hungry.
If I was a really good Oyomesan I would have gone into Okaasan's room and tried to get her chatting about something to FORCE the mental stimulation on her, but it was already 7.45 pm on Friday night and I was ready to relax. So, I left her blobbed in front of the TV.
Later in the evening I noticed she had eaten what I'd left out for her. She will never, ever starve :-)

This weekend winter arrives in Sapporo and I doubt she will go out, maybe I should take her out for lunch or dinner? I should make sure she actually has conversation anyway.

AND!!!!!!
The letter from the city office about day service has ARRIVED!!!!!!!
I've opened it. No excuses, just nosy...and desperate.

I think it says that she qualifies for Level 1 - which is the lowest level of service...and there are lists of day centers and forms to be filled in etc etc
Exciting!!
Dear Son is away till next Wednesday, so nothing can happen.
But the Next Stage of Getting Public Help is HERE in the house. Oh yes, yes, yes, yes!!!