I’ve always enjoyed watching the birds in the morning. It was something I used to do with my family over breakfast. Since my health has gotten worse, I don’t get outside much anymore, and I missed having that little part of my day.
Most mornings now I sit in my chair by the window. My breakfast comes on a tray. I can see the yard from there, and the feeder, and for a while the feeder was just empty.
The feeder outside my bedroom window had been empty for a while. I could see it from my chair. I kept thinking somebody should fill it, but I didn’t say much about it at first.
My daughter already does so much for me. She helps around the house and keeps track of a lot of things I can’t keep up with now. She has her own life too, and she is here most days. I didn’t really want to ask her to do one more thing, even though I missed watching the birds.
Miguel, my nurse from Siena Hospice, came to visit, and I mentioned that I missed seeing the birds outside. He listened and said he would see what he could do. I didn’t think much more about it. I figured it might not happen.
He talked with my daughter, and they put the feeder where I can see it better from my chair. He also wrote down the seed mixture I like. I have used the same kind for a long time. The birds seem to know it too, because it did not take long for them to start coming back.
On another visit, Miguel brought a bird sheet he had printed. It has pictures of the common birds around here and some space for notes. I keep a pencil by my breakfast tray now and mark down the ones I see. Some of the birds on the sheet I had never seen up close. Now I can put a name to a few of them, which I could not do before.
There is one little bird with a crooked tail that usually shows up early. I look for that one. Some mornings it is about the only regular I get. Other mornings the feeder is busy and I lose track of which ones I have already marked.
My grandson likes the sheet too. Sometimes he stands by the window with me and asks which birds have been there. He asks about the crooked-tailed one. He is learning the names faster than I expected. We go through the sheet together and check off what we can.
Now I can sit at breakfast and watch the birds again. It’s a small thing, but I really enjoy having that back. I have my coffee, my tray, and the feeder outside the window, same as before, just from my chair.
Alice R.
If your family is facing this and wants to talk it through, call Siena Hospice at 702-389-2009. Our phones are answered around the clock.
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