Recently, the article "When a Peking University Professor Becomes a 24-hour Caregiver" has been swiped on the Internet, once again arousing people's attention to the issue of elderly care. As a part of life at the end of life, aging is a topic that we often avoid talking about, but we must face. The 95-year-old female writer Lore Siegel subverts our imagination of twilight years with a sharp joke: in the past 30 years, five ladies are growing old together and stepping into their old age together. They gather every month to share the "Ladies Luncheon" to share their lives and solve problems.
Although it is a novel, "Vigil and Funeral is a Party for the Elderly" is full of portrayals of Siegel's life, and she records the overwhelming burden of the dust of history on ordinary people. She experienced World War II at the age of ten, was forced to flee to a foreign country, and unfortunately contracted an illness in her later years. The five ladies sometimes battle with the nurses just to eat a bite of high-oil, high-sugar bread, occasionally whimsically try to drive to rescue their companions who are being taken to a nursing home, even though they can't renew their driver's licenses due to vision problems, and sometimes forget the theme of the party until they finally find out that it was a funeral. In the humorous brushwork, five old ladies give advice to each other's life difficulties, tell interesting stories about each other's encounters, and develop insights into friendship, aging and death.
Selected readings
Vigil and funeral are parties for the elderly
Written by Lore Siegel, translated by Zeng Rong, CITIC Publishing Group
1
The apartment at the Lott family was spacious, which was important. Lott likes to boast that she can see the Empire State Building at a glance from her bed, through the two nearest water towers, through all sorts of strange buildings from the rooftops of Manhattan that few people notice.
From Lot's living room, you can see the traffic on the Hudson River and as far as the George Washington Bridge. On a velvet sofa, a family caregiver is sitting watching TV.
"Get her away. Lott said.
Sam lowered his voice, as if that would make his mother lower her voice as well: "As soon as you find a replacement, change it." ”
"Chase away the new kids. Lott said.
"We'll keep interviewing until we find the right person," Sam said. ”
"Someone who can make me eat bread and butter?"
"Mom," said Sam, "bread turns to sugar, you know very well. ”
"I don't care. Lott said.
"If she makes you eat bread for breakfast, lunch and dinner, she'll be fired. ”
"That's good. Lott said.
"Sara," Sam said to the caretaker, "I'm going to take my mother to the 'ladies' luncheon, can you pick her up at half-past three?"
"Can you do it at this time?" asked Sarah.
"No, you can't. Lott said.
"Remember we said that if we had anything to say to anyone in this world, it would be us," Ruth said. So whatever happens, I'm going to think I'm going to tell you at the next 'ladies' luncheon." ”
"Yes, that's it!" said Ika, "and I thought I'd tell you about it when I suddenly fell on the sidewalk in front of my house. ”
As a result, Ika needed to have a hip replacement. Dr. Barson, who operated on her, was covered in hair, like a cartoon character drawn by Ed Coren, but he looked a little happier. "From now on, everything will be fine. He assured Ika.
"I'm 85 years old. Ika said.
Dr. Barson told her, "I'm going to attend a patient's 92nd birthday who I operated on 11 years ago. ”
"I'm telling you," said Betsy, "that, in my poor Colin's experience, the recovery is not as rosy as Basson predicted. "Whether Betsy can get there by train from Old Rockingham these days depends on Colin's deteriorating health and emotional condition.
2
Today's luncheon, which was held at Bridget's home, said, "My theme is: 'How to prevent the inevitable.'" I'm referring to any of these situations where we would rather die than live. ”
Farah, a retired doctor, said: "Getting rid of this rotten skin is a cliché. ”
"Get rid of. Lott said.
"But it's you," Farah reminded Lott, "and you're saying you want to see everything and see what happens in the end." ”
"But that doesn't include 24-hour care and a heart-healthy diet," Lott said. You doctors, it's time to study the relationship between unsalted foods and depression. ”
"But your Sara still looks cute," Ruth said, "what the hell is wrong with her?"
"She's watching TV in my living room, she's having lunch in my kitchen and she's standing, she's sleeping in my empty room, she's in every time I want to go into the bathroom." ”
"Now at this point, what do you need her to do for you? help you get dressed?"
"No, you don't. Lott said.
"Help you take a bath?"
"No, you don't. Lott said.
"Eat?"
"God, no!" said Lott.
"And what help do you need?"
"Drive away the caretakers. Lott said.
"Go away. She said to Sarah, who had come to pick her up. Watching their friends raise their arms and wave them in the air, the jaws of the four women dropped.
At this age, as long as someone doesn't answer the phone, others will be worried.
Betsy is an old friend of Lot's and has known Sam since he was a baby. She called him from Connecticut and asked, "Why doesn't the caregiver answer the phone for Lot?"
"The caretaker is gone, and I can't stand the torture. ”
"Are you kidding? What do you say? That kind Sarah? You say she's abusing the elderly?"
"It's abusive babysitting. Sam said.
"For example?"
"For example, Sara was watching TV and her mother would change the channel for her, for example, she would go into the kitchen and hide the lunch that Sara was preparing for her, and when Sara was asleep, she would turn on the light. It's getting weirder and weirder. Anyway, I'm waiting with her for a new caregiver right now. ”
Bridget still writes at the computer every morning, and on this day, she visits Lot.
Bridget, Lot, and the new caretaker, Shailene, sat together, looking out the window at Riverside Boulevard.
"Shelene came from New Jersey by car and has a five-year-old who brushes her own teeth," Lott said. Schellene had told him that cockroaches would grow out of their mouths if they didn't brush their teeth. ”
Betsy called Lott from Connecticut: "How's the new caregiver going?"
"Get in the way. Lott replied.
When Farah called Lot, it was Sam who answered: "Shailene is gone, and mom locked her up, I don't know if it's locked in the bathroom or out of the bathroom, but not for that reason. Xie Lin just didn't want to rudely stop her mother from eating sugar spoonful by spoonful. It's out of control. ”
"Your mother is angry," Farah said, "imagine that you've been in charge all your life and suddenly someone comes running and tells you what to eat, what to wear, and when to shower." ”
"Because her decision was no longer reliable," Sam said, "Greg came from Chicago." Greg is Lot's youngest son, "We're going to see a nice assisted living home that sounds nice and upscale." ”
"Sam! you're going to move Lott out of her apartment!"
"Moved to a nice house in the country. ”
"Have you discussed the house in the country with Lot?"
"Yes. ”
"She agreed?"
"Well, yes, she agreed, sort of. She said maybe next year. Listen to me," Sam said, "Mom can't cope with 24-hour home care." And trust me, she definitely doesn't want to move in with me and Diana. ”
3
Bridget calls Sam, "How about this place you want Lott to move?"
"In the Hudson Valley, called 'Green Tree,' my brother would help me move with me and bring her favorite thing, the famous velvet sofa. ”
"Will she have her own apartment?"
"Just a single room, tidy, convenient, with its own bathroom and breakfast corner. ”
"A breakfast corner," Bridget said, "what's outside the window?"
Unfortunately, the Hudson River view is on the other side of the building. She has trees outside her window, a small parking lot and a lot of green space. You listen to me, I know Mom prefers Manhattan, so it's so much easier for Diana and I to see her, but who can afford the good stuff in town?"
Brigitte said, "It's just that we don't have a car these days, so how are we going to see Lot?"
"One of the great things about it is that you're always surrounded by people. ”
"Who can Lott talk to?"
"I've never been in a situation where I don't have anyone to talk to," Sam said. ”
"Never?" Bridget said.
"Whether she wants it or not, she can eat three decent meals a day. ”
God, poor Lot, Bridget thought, poor Sam, "I know you're not an optimist. She said she didn't know where it came from.
Ruth, an old militant, said, "I have an idea, I'm going to talk to Sam." ”
"Is the contract signed for that property in the Hudson Valley?" she asked him.
"Greg and I are going to sign on Thursday. ”
Ruth said, "Can you give us a few days to figure it out?"
"Trust me, nothing is needed...... Okay, you can. But I'll have to move her and her things before Greg goes back to Chicago. ”
Ruth said, "Will Lott be able to live on her own, if ......?"
"Absolutely not. ”
"Sam, wait. Listen to me. If there are four of us, if Betsy can't come, just the three of us, take turns looking after Lott to see what she needs and if anything is wrong, so that Lott can live on her own......"
"Mom would put sugar on the bread and butter. ”
"Sounds delicious. Ruth said.
"She never changes her clothes. ”
"Probably not. ”
"She should take a shower once a week. But she won't go to the shower. ”
"Sam!
"As long as I'm in charge, I can't!" Sam said, "and things need to be done right." ”
"No, no. Why do you have to get it right?"
"If Mom had taken the wrong medicine, Greg and I would have had to take her to the emergency room right away, and she might have died. ”
"Yes, she might. Your mother may die in her own bed, facing the view of the Empire State Building and the George Washington Bridge. But Sam, don't do it yet, we'll go up and keep an eye on her. Let's try it, just for a few days. ”
"What if she wrestles again?"
"If she wrestles, Sam, I'll sleep there tonight. ”
Ruth spent the night at Lot's house, and Lott fell as she walked from bed to bathroom. Ruth calls Sam, and Sam and Greg rush over to take Lott to the emergency room.
Sam and Greg took their mother, couch and other stuff from Lot's spacious apartment to a single room in the Hudson Valley, and Greg flew back to Chicago.
The next "Ladies Luncheon" was held at the table at Farah's house, and the topic was Farah's plan to save Lot.
New Media Editor: Zhang Yingying
Pictured: Photo.com
id : iwenxuebao
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