I decided to try renting a window-cleaning robot.
The rental fee is ¥1,400 a month, and there’s no cancellation fee if I keep it for at least three months.
So, let’s see if this can solve the problem of how to clean our windows this year!
My husband can’t handle anything that requires reaching high places, and I’ve been having problems with my neck and shoulders, so I thought this might be a good idea.
We’ve decided that we’ll just give up on the areas that this robot can’t clean.
We chose not to pursue any further treatment, so Yuki passed on the last round of chemotherapy covered by his insurance. Yesterday was his first follow-up visit to the hospital since then.
As expected, the cancer has progressed a little. But he is fine. He is enjoying his music activities.
The numbness won’t improve, but the doctor prescribed medication to help prevent it from getting worse.
For now, we’ll go to the hospital about once a month.
After discussing it with his doctor, we’ve also decided to start home-visit nursing care. I guess a nurse who visits us will check on his condition about once a month. Knowing that we can contact them 24 hours a day is very reassuring.
we had arranged for Yuki to be assessed for long-term care early on, and he was certified as needing Level 1 care, so that I feel like things are moving forward in a timely way.
At the same time, it’s a strange feeling, because all of this is based on the assumption that his condition will get worse. It’s hard to know how to feel about that.
I’m filled with anxiety about how his condition will change from now on and what lies ahead.
But perhaps that’s exactly why I’m so grateful for the support we can get from people outside our family.
The topics are... "Opposition"
◆In what ways can opposition be helpful to a person?
That’s a difficult question, so I can only give a general answer.
When you are discussing something and trying to decide what to do, it’s important to hear opposing opinions because they help you look at the issue from different angles.
If I think about it more specifically,
Opposition can make you think more carefully.
It can help you find weaknesses in your ideas.
It can help you improve your ideas.
It can help you understand other people's perspectives.
It can prevent you from making a bad decision.
◆Are you a very competitive person? What things do you like to compete in?
Do I seem like a competitive person to you?
I used to be competitive. Anyway, I hated losing. It’s not that I didn’t care about winning. I did want to win, but I hated losing even more. So I tended not to take on things when I already knew I was likely to lose. Even now, I don’t like games where there has to be a winner and a loser.
◆How do you usually react if people disagree with an idea or thought that you have?
When you say “usually,” let me answer as a woman in her 60s.
As we get older and gain more experience, the way we respond changes.
When someone disagrees with me, I first think about how important my opinion is in the discussion. If I need to stick to my opinion or I have to take action myself, I try to think more carefully about what they are saying. But if it’s not that important, I’ll just back down and move on.
◆Do you ever have to compete against others at school or at work?
Now I’m retired, and there are only two of us here—my husband and me. So I seldom have to compete against others. But I used to compete at school, at work, and even at home.
◆When was the last time you had an argument? What happened?
Though my mother has already passed away, the last serious argument I had was when she was sick. I had to discuss her care with my brothers. It wasn’t a very friendly discussion. At that time, my brother was the main person taking care of my mother, so I decided to step back and let him have his way.
◆Have you ever ended a friendship with a person because you had opposing ideas?
Unfortunately, yes. It’s happened several times, and I still remember every one of them clearly. What’s more, when I think about it, the pattern is always the same. I become closer to someone and start to believe that this person really understands me and understands the way I think I get too confident about that, and eventually, the friendship falls apart. You’d think I would have learned by now!
Last night, the owner of Café KARAKU called me to let me know that some items had been sold. All the clothes were sold, and Yuki’s fishing gear was sold, too.
Unfortunately, though, the books, which are the main reason we’re doing this, are still there.
Monday has started. In the morning, we’re going to the clinic as usual. Then, in the evening, we’re going to KARAKU Cafe with the things we want to let go of.
They’ve kindly offered us a corner of the cafe where we can display the things we no longer need, and customers can take whatever they need.
We have to arrange everything ourselves, so the key is whether we can set things up in a stylish and attractive way.
Yesterday, two young friends came to my house. I handed over all the props I had used for my picture-book activities.
They were originally props for my English picture-book activities, but of course, they can also be used for reading Japanese picture books. They can still be useful at this point.
The props themselves gradually wear out, and new picture books keep coming out, so eventually the props may no longer work for the books being used.
I finally decided that it was time to let them go while there are still people who want to use them. It took me a long time to make up my mind, but I’m glad I finally did.
