Baby Monitors and Bathrooms

Since my mom is home now, things look a little different than when she was in the hospital. Gone are the days where she presses a button and a nurse comes to her bedside to help her. Instead we use a baby monitor. Gone are the days where the nurse helps her go to the bathroom. Instead I take off her pants and underwear and sit her on the toilet.

And it just feels so weird. She’s not a baby – she’s 56 years old – and yet here we are with a baby monitor. She’s not a child, and yet here we are helping her in the bathroom as if she was being potty trained.

My brain can’t process it, these conflicting age indicators. I can’t make sense of it. I’m stuck in this limbo of “this shouldn’t be happening” and “this is the way it is, so deal with it.” I’ll do anything for her, but it still just feels… weird.