The Night that Was

Nite before last night was one of those nights.  Mother was up and down all night long. She was convinced she was supposed to be anywhere but here. And I don't know what happens with the brain , but it seems to loose the good sense it once had that says a body needs sleep. Luckily, Guy had volunteered to spot me a nite and so HE was the one up and down with Mother.
The body finally took over from the brain about mid morning and mother got some much needed sleep. Not so with Guy who worked all day.
Last night was my night again...and it was relatively quiet. This experience reminds me of parenting where your hearing  gets attuned to  the noises your children make. And you develop the ability to determine - mostly- which are "good noises" and which are "bad noises."
Like - complete quiet all of a sudden is bad. Loud booms are bad.  Running water is generally OK (except the other day when the toilet overflowed  on the main floor and flooded the downstairs ceiling).(Mother explained she was  cleaning up things in the living room and had put a few things 'down the sink.' )The bumping noise as the wheelchair goes from the living room to the kitchen, helps to identify just where someone is, as does the bumping sound into walls and doors. Its acts as a sonar radar of sorts. Mother is always surprised by how much we DO know about her comings and goings. And we are occassionally surprised by how little we know sometimes. Like the time she went out the window to get to the front porch. Her independent nature is still in charge even though her brain is not always making those connections. Guy and I just try to keep up.