Today we had thunderstorms later in the day, which prompted me to ask my husband what his favorite word is, hoping to get his mind off his confusion and agitated behavior. The following is his response to questions I asked, hoping to distract and comfort him. I told him that it might help other people understand the things I write if the words came directly from him,. Later he said talking and a cup of hot coffee helped but wanted the title to be Thunder and rain:
My favorite word is thunder
because it's scary, earthshaking,
yet helps make plants grow
because it makes the rain come
and the rain makes plants grow.
Without rain, plants wouldn't grow.
When I hear and feel thunder it's scary
yet it does a good thing.
I wouldn't want to sit outside if
there was thunder because it's scary
and sometimes there's lightning.
Then the thunder would be really scary
especially if it was nearby.
I feel safe in the house, but not
on the front porch.
We should just listen to it
and not let it bother us because
of how we feel.
Thunder makes the world seem frightening
but it always goes away.
I think the cats are afraid of thunder, but
I know you're not afraid of it and
that helps... but where are the boys?
Some thunders are bigger and cut across the sky;
that's scarier because you don't know when the big booms
will come.
I like the sound of rain and even the sound of wind,
if it's not too strong. But if things start flying apart,
I don't like that, that's scary.
I'm just glad the ice is gone.
* note: we lost power on and off that day, so I was desperately trying to find flashlights and candles, while seeming calm; the outside temps had dropped drastically and I was annoyed because several of his family members had called earlier, wanting him to fly to California (without me) for a "first family" reunion, including his ex-wife.
He has zero interest in doing this; told them he had "to work", plus his doctor said he couldn't fly anymore because of his breathing problems, but couldn't remember the word for it. His concept of time is increasingly quite skewed, hence the "ice" reference; he told one daughter we've had two inches of ice for the whole winter on the driveway, so it's been very dangerous to go away from home and get back safely.