I want an unbusy day. I seem to have less time as I get older. I know this is a common complaint. I heard it all the time from my church oldies. How did I ever fit work into the equation? There certainly is no time for that now. Of course doing the inside and outside work does mean I work on something seven days a week, alternating inside and out. My son says if I got rid of all the potplants that would make a difference but they are one of the things that keeps me sane.

Today I had my Ray free time as he went off to Daycare at 9.30am. It is good for him and good for me. Anyone who is a survivor and home all the time and thinks they are too young for Daycare think again. Does your caregiver need some time off? Does he/she need more time to work faster because she/he is not pushing you in a wheelchair? Well, give them a break and go off gracefully to some Senior Centre, or Daycare or wherever you can go and give your caregiver a break. It will give you time to socialise too. And if the thought is that all the other people there are in their eighties, well with a bit of luck the age gap will gradually close or seem less important. And with some good will on both sides in the end you won't even notice.

So did I relax and enjoy the warmth of a beautiful sunny day in April, that moment of shorter, more treasured days before the frost and fogs of winter seep in? Of course not. I crammed a heap of things in including a hair cut, a visit to my mum in her Dementia Lodge and some shopping. And just got home before the bus pulled into our yard at 2.30pm. I am supposed to be here with arms held in a welcoming gesture and a big smile on my face. Mind you that does not always happen. Sometimes I am a few minutes late, or they are a few minutes early and I arrive just after they do.

Tomorrow is free of encumbrances but I have some plans for it. I have to go to a hardware store to get some door sliding wheels (technical term unknown but I will know one when I see one) and some fertilizer for the garden and some potplant mix as I have some new old recycled pots. And it would be good to replant the herbs that I lost mid-summer to the heat. If I am able to get them this time of the year.

I also have to hand in the paperwork on my car but that means going two suburbs over so I will think about fitting the two jobs into the same day. Ray has been complaining a bit lately about how much we are out. He never used to, this is a new thing. He loves his time on the verandah just reading. I know he wishes I would just go off and do what has to be done by myself. It is a man thing, he thinks more than one shopping centre in a day is extravagant use of time.

There is so much I would like to do, but at the end of each week although I have been busy there doesn't seem to be room to squeeze in all I want to do. Did I hear you say "Simplify?" It would be simple if I only had to do for Ray and I but since the stroke all these medical appointments seem to keep me on the hop. And then there is medication to pursue, blessed social workers, OT's etc that just want to ring and discuss something or other. And I must admit the family have been a bit more demanding lately.

So what do I want for Mother's Day and my Birthday? Just give me an unbusy day.