Oh boy, oh boy...

...another Sunday morning, another full hour of "The Church Program" on TV.

In our house, the television is rarely on, let alone on and tuned in to a church service. But for years, Doll has reminded her mom of this program and made sure she was able to sit down and watch it, even if that meant a trip over to her house to set the correct station.

Lots of times, now that she lives here, Mamaw will ask us to come and watch the service with her. We're not really all that good at faking it, so we usually say something like, "Our church is out in the woods with the deer, or out in the pasture with the horses."

Mamaw's a truly good soul, and she usually hesitates just a second before saying that makes good sense.

Anyway, the television has to be on loud for Mamaw to hear it and those hymns just about drive me up a wall, so I come into my study and put on headphones to listen to some gritty rock-and-roll during the church program. More and more, Doll and I have to resort to eeking out the smallest measures of privacy and relief from the constant questions, fears, bathroom trips and questions, questions, questions that pervade our life now that we are Mamaw's sole caregivers. There is zero support from the rest of Mamaw's family.

It isn't that Mamaw has no other family. There's a son, daughter-in-law, and grown granddaughter. Sadly, before Mamaw came to live with us, the son plainly stated that Mamaw would not be welcome in their home. Ever. At all. Not even for the random afternoon of relief for Doll to go to the grocery or the bank. According to him, that edict comes from his wife (she and the daughter are, um, devout Christians).

The son has called just twice in the more than three weeks since Mamaw moved in. One time was just mainly to complain to Doll about how bad he has it, what with having to pitch in at work, where the woman who runs the office has been out a lot lately due to the piffling fact that her husband is in the final stretch of a long battle with cancer. She wants to be with him every moment they have left. That's inconveniencing the Christian.

Anyway, I had to walk past the television a few minutes ago to get myself a glass of milk. Those people on that church program sure do have sweet, God-lovin' looks on their pious faces.


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