Hi Everyone,
It didn’t just happen but it is only now that I have come to fully understand how much arthritis has affected and changed the use of my mother’s hands in the kitchen. There is much that she can and still does but in different ways; there is a new kind of normal in the kitchen.
Mommy is currently visiting. The first day of her visit after she had finished eating, I noticed that she held the glass filled with water with both hands to bring it to her mouth. I thought it was cute and didn’t think much of it. Later in the day as we sat chatting she happened to mention that when she is at home (in Guyana) she uses a cup to drink water. I thought it strange given that my mother used to fuss about such things.
When I enquired why, she explained that the cups have handles that are easy for her to grip and hold on to and that she feels secure in holding the handles because of her arthritic hands that can sometimes be painful. The next day, and every day after, I served mom’s water and juices in a Mason jar glass jug.
A couple of days later, I gave her some fruit to snack on and instead of a breakable dinnerware, I accidentally put it on a melamine plate that was nearby. When she had finished eating the fruit and was handing me the plate she said, “From now on, please give me my food on this plate.” And that is when it truly hit me. Of course, the melamine plate was lighter, easier for her to lift and carry to the sink! And if it fell, she didn’t have to worry about it breaking. Life in a particular way had changed for my mom.
