Balancing Daily Tasks While Caring for My Mother

I had another very early start to the day. Over the past few nights, I have been spending more time in my mother’s room because she has been unwell, and I feel uneasy when I am away from her. She is very precious to me, and her discomfort keeps my mind occupied. After waking up, I performed ablution and offered the morning prayers, made a few supplications, and then returned home. To escape the biting cold, I slipped back into bed for a short rest.

^{Sun bathing outside my place}

Breakfast time brought me fully out of sleep. My sister-in-law had already prepared the meal, which I finished quickly before helping my mother with her medicines. After that, I stepped outside to deal with a task I had been postponing. The front left tyre of my car had been punctured days earlier and had completely flattened. I wanted it replaced in advance, so that in an emergency I wouldn’t be stuck. Since I also had work at the revenue office regarding our land papers, today seemed the right day to sort everything out.

^{Replaced the flat tyre of my car}

^{My cat giving me company}

Working on the car in the cold wasn’t easy. The fog from the previous rainfall lifted slowly, and when the sun finally appeared, the job became a bit more bearable. By the time I was done with the car, it was already noon. I finished a few chores at home, had lunch, and then walked to the revenue office about a kilometre away. I had to get a document verified confirming our land ownership, which I will later submit to the horticulture office to apply for machinery available under government schemes. All this took longer than expected, and it was around 4:30 PM when I finally wrapped up and came back.

^{On my way to revenue office}

Even while completing these formalities, my thoughts kept going back to my mother. Her new medication has brought side effects like nausea, weakness, and anxiety, just as the doctor had warned us for the first week. My biggest fear was that her BP might rise, but thankfully it has remained stable since our hospital visit yesterday.

^{Walking outside the bank}

As evening approached, I headed out again—this time to pick up groceries and then to my maternal home. They had an electronic item that needed repair, and my maternal uncle had asked me to look at it since I usually handle such fixes. After helping them and spending a short while there, I moved back towards home. Because of the visit and the shopping, I reached home a bit late, close to 8 PM. Dinner was around 9:30 PM, and before sleeping, I spent some time on social media, talking to friends—some I know in person and some I’ve never met, yet feel closely connected to.