Out of Touch

Out Of Touch-I had the stroke in July of 1983. Now it is January of 2017.
That means that I have been in a hospital or Long Term Care for almost 34
years. In that length of time, lots has changed in this world of ours.
Needless to say, I am very much out of touch with just about everything.

First of all, I am totally out of touch with life itself. Right now, l feel
like I am living a half-life. I have forgotten what is like to do even basic
care for myself. Things like washing my own face or hands, combing my own
hair, dressing myself, etc. I don't even remember what it is like to feed
myself. Much less do I remember what it is like to be a teacher and mother
of young children. (I never had the opportunity to be their mother as they
grew older). Anyway, I will probably need a crash course in "doing life"once
this ordeal is finally over!

I am also pretty out of touch with what is going on in the world. I never
watch news, though, most days, I do check news headlines on my computer so I
am not totally in the dark about worldly developments. However, I never read
the stories. The headlines, at least most of them, are depressing enough. I
don't need to add more depression to my life. I have a frequent battle with
depression as it is.

I am really out of touch with people. Except maybe not the nurses because
they can communicate better with me and they work under the same conditions I
live in. A major component of my being so out of touch with people is the
communication difficulty. But, I find that, even when we overcome the
difficulty in communication, visitors and I often just sit, not knowing what
to say to each other. I can no longer relate to a "normal" life and they certainly
can't relate to life in Long-term Care. For that reason, at times, I prefer
for people to just read to me. It takes my mind off of my problems and we
don't have to try to think of things to say to each other.

And then there is technology. When I had the stroke, computers were just starting to come in. Now, in 2017, it is cell phones and all sorts of other gadgets. I am, I admit, somewhat fascinated by all they can do but I will also admit that at present because I am not able to use them, I have never paid a lot of attention to them. I don't even know what half of them are for. I know the day will come when l will have to learn to use them but I will deal with that when the time comes. The one exception is my computer. Out of necessity, I have had to learn to do certain things on it and, now, I am lost without it.

I am really out of touch with the cost of everything now. Living in Long-term Care where all the food is provided, I have no idea of the cost of food. So, on the rare occasions that I am in a grocery store, I am flabbergasted at the prices. The same when I see cars advertised on tv. I am blown away by the cost. Mind you, cars now have a lot more "bells and whistles".

I am totally, and I mean totally, out of touch with fashion. The truth is, I seldom buy clothes. I simply wear what people give me. I assume they don't buy anything too out of fashion. But,even if they did, I wouldn't know the difference.

But I am not out of touch with God and the Bible. That is more important than all the things I am out of touch with. They will pass away but God and His word, the Bible, will last forever.