Reading other people's blogs helped raise my spirits

Today has been one those days that one is glad to see the back of when it is over.

This morning was spent waiting for an engineer to arrive to fix a faulty clock on the gas boiler that warms our central heating and water. The visit was booked several days ago, and I asked for the 'first call' of the day ... a service that I have to pay extra for.

At 8.00am I was washed, dressed, and waiting for the engineer. I was still waiting at 9.00am, ... at 10.00am, ... and at 11.00am, ... but of the engineer there was no sign. At 12.15pm the engineer finally arrived, looked at the faulty clock, ... and announced that he did not have a replacement with him. I think that he sensed that this was not something that I wanted to hear, and he telephoned other engineers who were in the area until he found one who had a replacement clock. He then went and collected it from his colleague, returned, and fitted it ... and at 2.30pm my wife and I were finally able to leave home in order to visit my father in his care home.

I have not been able to visit my father for some time because the car home he lives in has been ‘off limits’ to visitors due to an outbreak of Norovirus (AKA Winter Vomiting Virus). This is highly contagious and can be passed on by touch. The care home is now ‘clear’ of the virus, and the local doctor has finally been able to call to see my father, who is suffering from several medical conditions in addition to his dementia.

My wife and I spent some time with my father this afternoon, and somewhat longer talking to the care home manager. It appears that my father is going to have to have a number of medical tests in the hope that this will help identify the best way in which to treat the medical conditions that are afflicting him. This means that I will have to ferry him to and from the local hospital so that he can have a chest X-Ray and, depending upon the results of the tests, I might have to repeat this several times if he requires out-patient treatment.

On the way home we got delayed by a traffic jam on the M25 at the Dartford Crossing, and by the time I got home I was feeling depressed, angry, and frustrated. After having a drink I sat down at my computer to catch up on the various blogs that I follow ... and this was a tremendous boost to my flagging morale. In particular Steven (and Spike) Page's 'Halloween Special: All's Wells ...' blog entry on their Adventures in Portable Wargaming blog and the follow-up 'Halloween Special: ... That ends Welles' blog entry on their Old Admirals blog did much to raise my morale, especially as they were using some of my rules to fight their battles.

So the message to all the bloggers whose blogs I follow is a big 'Thank You!'. You have assisted me get through a very trying day and helped raise my spirits no end.