Thursday, July 21, 2016

Memories and Groceries


53 years, for today, since my father's death. I was 7 years old then.  I remember the details of that day so clearly, even after all these years.  I remember one of my aunts coming to my home from the hospital where my father was, to take me to the hospital to be with my mother and my half siblings.    No body told me anything, but my aunt must have said something to my maid because she started to cry, and then I guessed my father had died.  I remember going to the hospital and seeing my sister seated on a chair with one of our brothers holding her.  She cried out when she saw me and I remember my mother trying to hush her.  I remember being taken into the hospital room where my father's body was still laid out on the bed, to see him.  What I remember the most is that his big toes were tied together with a bandage and another bandage was tied around his face to make sure the feet and the jaw stayed in place as rigor mortis set in.  Later that night, his body was brought home and laid out in the sitting room, as was the custom then.  There were no funeral parlors at that time in my country of birth.

There aren't many photographs of my father and me.  This is one of two that I have of just the two of us - not the best quality since it's a photo of a photo and taken with my cell phone:

My Father and I

I went for my radiation treatment, as usual, today.  On the way back, I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few things since daughter is coming home for the weekend, tonight.

July 20 Groceries
Yes, there is a cat's tail in the background!  Guess who came to see if Mummy brought him something?

He's sulking because there's nothing for him!
I bought:

2 x 4-pack fruit cup (mango), @$2 = $4.00
juice = $2.49
half and half = $1.79
2 mangoes, @ $.50 = $1.00
1.62 lb. bananas, @$.69/lb. = $1.12
Total = $10.40

Grocery spending so far in July =  $12.25 + $23.02 + $16.12 + $10.40 = $61.79

July 20 Receipt

According to the forecast, we were supposed to have a high of 98F today.  But when I came home after grocery shopping, it registered 100F on the car temperature gauge:

Outside Temperature

It was much cooler inside the house, however:

Inside Temperature
 
And now, the declutterings.  First, 19 items for July 19 -anyone else remember these?   Computer diskettes.

July 19 Declutterings

20 items for today:

July 20 Decluttering
6 more computer diskettes
2 boxes of water paints
2 inner cardboard tubes from foil rolls, saved for possible craft project
5 note pads
5 packets of tabbed dividers

210 items decluttered.

Daughter called around 5:30 p.m., on her way to the airport, saying that, according to the airline's website, her 7:30 p.m. flight has been delayed till 10:00 p.m.  Then, when she got to the airport, she called to say her flight has been cancelled!  Apparently the airline had a computer glitch and many flights were either delayed or cancelled and many passengers were stranded in airports.  It was on the evening news, as well.  She was waiting in line to speak to an agent to ask if she could get a seat on another flight; if not, I said to get a refund and come down next weekend.  I said a prayer for her to be able to get a flight home and my prayer was answered!  Daughter called at 7:00 p.m. saying she was able to get a seat on a different flight!  She was home by 8:30 p.m.

Today I am grateful for:

- Answered prayers.
- Daughter was able to get a flight home after all.
- Memories of my father.
- Going through the radiation treatments without any difficulties, so far.
- Being able to go grocery shopping, again.

How was your Wednesday?

       

20 comments:

  1. I'm glad your daughter was able to visit, Bless! Also, I think that photo of you and your father is lovely. You look so happy to be with him and he also looks very happy and pleased with you.

    Those discs made me smile. I haven't used them in years, but I'm sure there are some still kicking around the library!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Laura. :)

      I was able to use those diskettes until late last year, because I had a really old computer at the office. Then, they replaced my computer with a newer one and suddenly, they became obsolete!

      Delete
  2. I actually keep one (and only one!) kitchen roll inner cardboard tube for those times when bear says, 'by the way, mum, I need to take in cardboard tubes and boxes today'. This happens more than you would think. Those disks brought back memories.

    Also, thank you for sharing that photo of your father and the memory. It must have been a tough time. hugs x

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    Replies
    1. Oh, I well remember all the times my daughter would come home and say she needed various items for some school project or another! Shoe boxes, empty water bottles, egg cartons, etc.

      Thank you for the hugs. Much appreciated. :)

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  3. I'm glad your daughter was able to make it, Bless and I'm sorry for the loss of your dad but if you remember his passing, you must also remember spending time with him when he was alive, and that's precious.

    I laughed at the diskettes as well. I think we have a pack of the smaller kind somewhere as, a few years ago, one of the tricks to reformatting one of our computers involved sticking a diskette into it, if I remember correctly. Of course nowadays the computers don't even come with those disc drives anymore! I can't believe that your work computer was that ancient as of last year! Unbelievable. What operating system did it run? Were you still on Windows 3.1?!

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    1. Ha, ha; I think I was the last one in the department to get a new computer. I was excited about it until I realized I could no longer use my diskettes! Then I was dismayed.

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  4. What a sweet photo of you with your father. If only we could all grow up with our fathers and mothers. I was 3 1/2 when my father was killed.

    I also have paper towel rolls at times, as I cut them up and make puzzle balls for granddaughter's pet rats! I confess to having kept the really heavy tubes at times, they are just crying out for something to be done with them (probably crying out to be tossed!)

    DH threw out a load of those diskettes, so did DS, and I even had to discard a couple that I had, unfortunately with a change in computers I could no longer read the creative writing I had stored on them.

    So glad your daughter was able to get on another flight. Enjoy your time together again.
    Bushlady

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bushlady, so sorry to hear your father was killed when you were only 3 1/2.

      We do keep all kinds of things for creative purposes, don't we? I did a search for crafts with the computer diskettes and, oh my! Pen holders, coasters, planters, and more! :D

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  5. What a lovely photo of you and your dad.. It hurts, no matter how long our parents are gone.. My husband lost his mom this past weekend.. It has been a really hard week.
    So happy daughter found another flight and was able to come home..

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    Replies
    1. Judy, my deepest sympathies to your husband, you, and your family. (((HUGS)))

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  6. What an adorable photo of you and your father! The love between you two is so evident and precious. So nice that your daughter was able to get a flight and arrive today. Know you're grateful to see her. Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Carolyn. I was the youngest of his 6 children, and from all accounts, quite spoilt by him! :D

      I'm very happy that daughter made it home safely. Always glad to have her home.

      Hope you have a lovely weekend, too.

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  7. ((((((HUGS))))). I am so sorry your lost your father at such a young age. What a precious picture of the two of you. May I ask what country you are from?

    I'm so glad your daughter was able to make it after all. It will be nice for you two to have the weekend together. :)

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Debbie, I am originally from Sri Lanka. It's an island off the coast of India.

      My daughter and I are enjoying each others company and being together. :)

      Hope you have a blessed day and weekend.

      Delete
  8. Although I keep promising myself to be more regular in my reading your blogs, I proved again that I can't really keep up. I am moved by your memories and want to leave a small note of gratitude for you sharing so beautifully about everything.
    I felt sad that you did not get to grow up with your dad.

    I am so enjoying your daily posts! Even when I catch up dozens at a time. I'll try and have a better system, but I am ruthless with myself because I know that sometimes it becomes a major distraction reading blogs and leaving comments!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! It's quite OK. I know you have a lot going on and your days are full. I'm glad to know that you are reading and enjoying my posts. :)

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  9. How sad he died young. It's a beautiful photo; you both look so happy together. He looks tall and handsome - and, all in white like that, like a famous cricketer! I don't know how to feel about your being taken to the hospital so young, with no explanation (I think how sensitive he was when your rabbit died), but I definitely think that the western habit of trying to cover up or sanitize death is not necessarily for the best.

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    1. He was 55 when he died (I was born rather late in his life). He was usually dressed in all white, unless he was wearing a suit to a formal occasion. He probably would have wanted to spare me the visit to the hospital. I know that I was taken to the hospital to visit him, once, before he died, and he was apparently very unhappy that I was allowed to go into his room - he didn't want me to get upset about seeing him on a hospital bed and he quickly went to the adjoining waiting room with me. It wasn't like a regular hospital waiting room with patients waiting to be seen - it more like a waiting area for visitors who had come to see the patients. I'm not sure what my mother thought about me being brought to the hospital, but, I attended the funeral, too, and I remember walking around the funeral pyre, 7 times, with a piece of firewood in my hand which was then added to the pyre before it was set on fire. Life is followed by death which is followed by rebirth - an endless cycle, or samsara, according to the Buddhist way of thinking. :)

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    2. I suppose as long as you were supported at the funeral it was the right thing for you to go? i.e. I imagine it might have been sadder and more bewildering to have been left out and not had the chance to bid farewell, whatever your understanding of that was, at that age.

      I need to read up on Buddhist funeral rites - I thought the open fire was a Hindhu ceremony but I have never been to one. I attended a Japanese Buddhist funeral but that had no fire. It was held in a huge building where lots of funerals were taking place and all the mourners waited for ages in the car park. Then, gradually, (according to status I guess) the mourners for each particular person were allowed to go in and pay respects to the coffin, in a small room where the sutras were being chanted. Each mourner offered incense, filed past and left. Afterwards each of us was given a small gift and a packet of salt. The salt was to be sprinkled outside the mourner's front door before re-entering the home, as a way to ward off evil spirits/bad luck brought back from the funeral.

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    3. I think Sri Lankan Buddhist funeral rites borrow a lot from Hindu traditions. There is a funeral pyre and a few days later, the immediate members of the family go and collect the bones which are then, interred! I was spared the ritual of collecting my father's bones (I suppose my mother thought it would have been too much for me), but, about 8 years later, I was among those who collected my uncle's (father's older brother) bones! When my step-father and my mother died, I had their remains cremated, but, that was done here, in America, and took place in a crematorium adjoining the cemetery.

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