Sometimes when I arrive she is disoriented and confused. I start by getting her up from bed, telling her about the weather, sharing a story of my children.  I get her to the bathroom to start her morning routine.

As we move through our routine she is sometimes concerned that she will be late for class.  You see thirty years ago she taught English at High School.  She was always prompt and expected the same from her students.  These days are hard, I talk to her about her retirement, how she now can enjoy the quiet life.  I remind her that she is 86 years old.

She is always a little shocked at her age.  She still feels like she is 21, despite the fact that she can no longer drive or go out alone. Always 21.

By this time we are getting into the shower.  As the warm water washes over her you can see a transformation starting.  She picks up her soap and carries through her routine, the same routine she did several times a day after swimming practice.  She was a Mermaid after all.  Synchronized swimming kept her agile and graceful for many years.

As we continue along I get out the shampoo and wash her hair.  As she tilts her head back into the water for a rinse the transformation is almost complete.  I won’t say for a minute that she remembers everything, but she is no longer disoriented, no longer confused.  It is like the water washing over her brings her back to today or almost today at the very least.

By the time we are finished and into fresh pyjamas we are chatting easily about her former students or my children and how they too love to swim.  Brushing out her hair she thanks me again and again for helping her with her shower so she could be ready for breakfast.

And every time I take her down to breakfast I am thankful for the warm water that washes over her and brings her back to us for another day.

When I was asked by Mom Central to participate in the ‘Moms Fight the Flu Campaign’ I immediately said yes.  There has been so much discussion about the Flu this year, with the H1N1 strain that I felt I should participate in spreading the word.

Back in October when the first round of H1N1 clinics opened, I still wasn’t sure if I should get myself and the kids inoculated.  But, when Hubby asked us to we headed over and had a rather painless experience.  In the end, I was actually in the risk group due to my asthma and Apple was in the risk group due to her age.  They just gave J the shot so we wouldn’t have to come back and do it all again even though he was only three months into the not at risk category.

At the same time we were getting our shots, A, my stepson was at home with H1N1.  His mother was away, but his grandparents took him to the hospital (he didn’t want Apple and J to catch it so thoughtfully called them to take him instead of me, even though I would have done it).  Thankfully all he needed to do was rest and stay away from people and after three very bad days, and some Ibuprofin to bring down his fever, A, was feeling like his old self and ready to get back to his busy teenage schedule.  Me, being the mean Stepmother that I am made him clean the house with disinfectant and wash all his bedding before his Mom got home so as not to spread the germs.  Thankfully he had a couple of warmer days to let in the fresh air into the house as well.

The worst part for him was the not knowing what to do.  Thankfully, there are many resources out there to help you figure out if you might have it and what to do if you do have it.

Here we are now at the second round of shots.  Apple needs a second shot, since she is under three.  But, J doesn’t need another one since it has been decided that healthy children up to age 9 only needed the first half dose. And Hubby, he needs to get his shot now too.  Thankfully there is a new clinic set up here in Barrhaven that he can go to and hopefully take Apple with him so I don’t have to do it again.  To find a clinic near you, you can look it up here.

Are we happy we got the shots?  In a word, yes.  I was quite skeptical about it but, since we have been in contact with quite a few people now that have had H1N1 we are happy that we at least have a little extra help in keeping it away.

“I wrote this post while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central and received a Mom Central gift pack to thank me for taking the time to participate.”