One Thankful Moment

The first half of year 2024 has been a challenging year for me and my hubby, who's been living with a neurological disorder. I had to find ways on how to monitor him at home while I'm at work. At first, I thought leaving him on his own while ensuring that I leave and come home early in a structured manner was good enough. He also has his smart watch and smart mobile phone to connect us instantly. Prompt video notifications from our front door also alerts me of his plans to go out.

For the first few days, it worked as expected. When I'm at work, I get a chance to see whether hubby is out or inside the house. Then, one time, when I got home, I saw our garage wide open. I asked hubby if he's aware of it. He said he only stayed home the whole day and never got out. I reviewed the videos in the hopes of finding out what took place with the garage door through our front door's smart doorbell. In one of the videos, there's grainy movement at the far right side where one of our car was parked on the driveway.  I saw a guy circling around it and checking on its doors. My heart thumped quickly thinking that there was an attempted robbery, only to realize that it was my hubby! So, he did go out through the garage to check on the car but forgot to shut off the garage door.  The following day, I purchased another camera for the garage for my peace of mind. Somehow, it gave me assurance that I'll get a chance to see if hubby's been using the garage door to exit or not. A few days later, for some reason, the garage door started to act up and got stuck. It won't remotely open despite many attempts. I did not ask my hubby if it has to do with him but I took it as a sign for me not to worry about it anymore. 

Days passed by and I sometimes find myself either being stuck in a meeting or at the traffic which leaves me always anxious going home late. Then one dreaded afternoon, it happened. I was running home late and I have an inkling that hubby was already restless despite no communications at all. A few blocks away, while still on the road, I suddenly looked on my left-side and saw someone in a hoodie walking by himself. My instinct kicked in. I looked again and it was indeed my hubby! I was thankful that the traffic light was on red and there was a space between me and the other car ahead of me. Also, there were no other incoming vehicles the other way so I was able to make a sudden U-turn to stop and get my hubby's attention. Oh, he was so glad to see me but I was petrified! I was not sure if it was out of fear for his safety, my safety, our house's safety or if it was out of rage, that I felt my whole body shaking uncontrollably! I felt relieved to get hold of him and at the same time angry at him for his impatience, for leaving the house alone. We got home and found the front door shut but unlocked. I was still overwhelmed with what transpired that I couldn't think well. After a few minutes of asking God to help me calm down while still in the car with hubby, I found myself heading to the front door and decided to lock it. Once back in the car, I gave out a big sigh of relief, I told my hubby that we will just go somewhere else. He was still confused and was trying to figure out what's happening with his questioning stare but lightened up when he heard that we'll be out. On my end, I also had an overload of emotions rushing through my mind but the one emotion that prevailed at that moment was hunger.

So, yes, the day ended well with a bowl of Tom Yum soup, crispy spring rolls, and chicken curry at a Thai restaurant. As of writing, there has not been any incidents of him leaving home alone after I purchased two more indoor cameras. From time to time, I avail services from friends to watch over him while I'm out at work. Now that it's summer time, I have the privilege of being able to stay home most of the time with him.