Tales of a Murse

“The media are only too happy to celebrate the difficulties of the rich and famous. We in L.A. love nothing better than when a celebrity gets in hot water or doesn’t get his or her way. It’s an equalizing kind of thing, the not-very-attractive flip side of our usual genuflection before the stars in our midst.”

– Anne Taylor Fleming. “Slippery Slope.” Los Angeles Magazine September 2012: 92.

I went ahead and gotten digital subscriptions of Los Angeles Magazine and Harpers today. Years and years ago I had print subscriptions but had them lapse since I didn’t really read them. For some reason I wanted to get them again but don’t want the physical issues. Gotta love technology.

I’ve been doing my impression of a murse the last several days. My grandmother had surgery to resurface her left cornea, so I’ve been making sure she eats, takes her medicine and what not.

My grandmother is caught between the guilt of having me take care of her and her actually needing my help. At 83 years old, she’s not quite used to being dependent.

She has learned that I’m a good cook even when having to deal with her dietary guidelines.

She is getting a lot better. She was able to heat up her own lunch today while I was out picking up her medication and going to the gym. That’s a good sign.

While I love doing this and helping my grandmother, and while I love not having to be chained to a 9-to-6 (or 7, 8, 9) desk job, I do have a lot of resentment to my mom for not helping out a little. I would have thought that once the wave of teen angst had passed that these feelings would dissipate.

It hasn’t.

So children, keep that in mind as you grow up. If you hate your parents when you’re 16, you’ll still probably have problems with them into your 30s.