Story about Matjaž's family - part 1

It was a Saturday morning, promising a beautiful, sunny day. Matjaž was sitting in his chair, reading the newspaper. His wife, Karmen, was doing the dishes after breakfast, assisted by their ten-year-old son, Miha.

The doorbell rang. Karmen, a woman of average height in her early middle age, wiped her hands and went to open the door.

“Good morning,” said Tomaž, Matjaž's older brother. He was a strong and well-built man in his early middle age, clearly one who did a lot of physical labor. Standing beside him were his wife, Ines, who was the same age as Karmen and of a similar stature, and their son Žiga, who, at 13, was about three years older than Miha.

“Good morning. It’s lovely that you came to help,” Karmen said.

“I’m happy to help my brother. Where is he?” Tomaž asked.

“He’s sitting at the table, reading the newspaper. Go greet him,” Karmen replied. Her son Miha was already standing next to her, chatting and playing with his cousin Žiga.

Matjaž appeared at the entrance to the living room.

“Good morning, Tomaž, Ines, and Žiga,” he greeted them. He was frail and smaller than both Ines and Žiga. Only Miha was smaller than him, but Miha was stronger due to his active lifestyle.

“Good morning, Matjaž. We came to help you,” Tomaž replied.

“Thank you for coming. It means a lot to me,” Matjaž said.

“Let’s get to work now,” Tomaž declared and walked out the front door with his son Žiga. Tomaž was going to mow the lawn, while Ines and Žiga were to weed the flower and vegetable garden.

Meanwhile, Karmen was already dusting the shelves, with her son Miha helping her.

“Matjaž, you could also do something lighter, just enough so you don’t break a sweat or get tired,” Karmen suggested.

“Yes, I can do something light,” Matjaž agreed.

“I’ll bring you a cloth, and you can wipe the table and other surfaces you can reach without stretching, bending, or squatting,” she said, and went to the bathroom for a cleaning cloth.

Matjaž slowly started dusting the furniture. He only wiped where he could reach without strain. He got tired quite quickly. Outwardly, apart from a general weakness, he did not appear to be physically disabled or mobility-impaired. However, he was not allowed to be exposed to physical exertion.

“I’m tired,” he said, sitting down in his chair.

“Okay, I’ll continue, and you rest. You must conserve your energy,” Karmen said.

Miha was thinking while cleaning the shelves. All his schoolmates went hiking with their families, but they never did. Even Žiga often went up a high hill like Lisca with his family. But he and his family never went anywhere. At school, they teased him, saying he was physically inactive, even though it wasn't obvious outwardly. In fact, at home, he helped immensely with household chores inside and outside the house. He also played football twice a week right after school, taking the bus home after practice. But they never went anywhere as a family.

“Mom, I’d like us to go on a hike in the mountains as a family sometime,” he said.

“Miha, we go for a walk every day, and we even go up the hill above the village,” Karmen pointed out.

“But I’ve never been to Triglav. My schoolmates boast about being on Triglav and similar high peaks in the Julian and Kamnik-Savinja Alps, and they tease me about whether I’m even capable of going to the mountains.”

“Miha, the problem is that we would have to leave your father at home all day. He cannot go to the mountains. And I don’t know how we two alone would manage, because you need more adults to supervise a child in the mountains. I strongly doubt that all of them have been to Triglav, because it requires special preparation and prior training, and not everyone has that, for sure. They are probably just bragging, while they themselves have never been to Triglav. You could even lie sometimes, too,” Karmen suggested.

“So my schoolmates aren't telling the whole truth?” Miha asked.

“No, they are not telling the whole truth. People, even adults, often lie just to appear better in the eyes of others,” Karmen said.

“What about the pictures they show?”

“Today, you can get everything on the internet, and if you have the right software and knowledge, you can even put yourself into a picture you downloaded from the internet. I could even show myself and your father on a forged picture on Triglav. But would that be credible? Anyone who knows that my husband, your father, is ill would immediately know it's a fake,” Karmen explained.

“So that’s the way of things...” Miha realized.

“Yes, that’s right. After lunch, we’ll go for a longer stroll together with Žiga,” Karmen said.

“Slowly through the village because Dad walks very slowly?” Miha asked, knowing they often did that to encourage his father to move, but for Miha, it was not enough.

“No, this time we’ll go further. We’ll take your father’s electric mobility scooter, and he will ride on it,” Karmen announced.

“That would be excellent!” Miha exclaimed.

Matjaž became angry because of the gossiping:

“Karmen, why are you talking about me? Why don’t you let me have a word?”

“Matjaž, as a mother, I just wanted to explain the situation to Miha,” his mother tried to calm Matjaž down.

“That’s gossiping. My parents told me that gossiping is bad,” Matjaž insisted.

“Matjaž, they were probably referring to speaking ill of others, while I wasn't speaking ill of you. Did I say anything bad about you? I said we would go for a long walk together. Is that bad?” Karmen clarified to him.

“No, you didn’t,” Matjaž said, feeling embarrassed, and smiled.

Matjaž calmed down and became engrossed in his memories. Even in his childhood and school years, he was more sedentary and weak, and his parents and older brother helped him a lot. He must not exert himself too much. He can walk a little on flat ground, but for longer distances, he needs an electric mobility scooter. When his parents and brother were working in the vineyard, he would sit in the wine cellar and draw. When they were at his grandmother's and grandfather's, he would sit with them while his cousins played football or basketball. By a strange coincidence, all his cousins on his mother's side had names ending in 'ž'. Mihaela's sons were named Andraž and Primož, and Daniela's were Aljaž and Blaž.

Matjaž was roused from his thoughts by Karmen.

“Matjaž, do you need to go to the toilet? I’m going to clean the bathroom now,” Karmen asked.

“Yes, I would go to the toilet,” Matjaž said, slowly getting up from his chair, and then slowly went to the bathroom.

He relieved himself and washed his hands.

Karmen suggested:

“Matjaž, would you peel the potatoes?” Matjaž could do this sitting on a kitchen chair.

“Yes, I can,” Matjaž replied.

“Miha, go get the potatoes,” Karmen instructed Miha.

Miha soon returned with the potatoes. Matjaž was already sitting on the kitchen chair, ready to start the task. He peeled slowly, but persistently and accurately.

Meanwhile, Tomaž was mowing the lawn, and Ines and Žiga were working in the garden.

“Why is uncle always sitting?” Žiga asked his mother.

“Because he is sick,” Ines said.

“Will he get better?” Žiga asked.

“Žiga, this is not a disease like a cold that gets cured. This is a chronic illness that you have to live with,” Ines explained.

“What is the cause of this disease? Is it contagious? Bacteria? Viruses?” Žiga was a little scared.

“No, it’s not bacteria and it’s not contagious. You won't get sick because you’re here, and neither will I. Just stay calm,” Ines reassured Žiga, trying to hide her dismay at her son’s questions.

“Is it hereditary?” Žiga continued to ask. He had recently read about genetics in his biology textbook. They would be learning about it this year.

“We don’t know. His brother Tomaž is healthy, all his cousins are healthy, even his parents were healthy, and the children of Tomaž’s and Matjaž’s cousins are healthy. At least that's what your father, Tomaž, told me once. But genetics has strange ways that even scientists don't fully understand,” Ines said.

Tomaž walked past. Ines asked him.

“Žiga was interested in whether Matjaž’s illness is hereditary. Does anyone else in his family have it?” Ines asked.

“No, no one has this disease, and no one has ever had it. But it is true that once, before modern medicine, a child with this disease would have died. Matjaž takes medicines that didn’t exist then. Child mortality used to be high, but no one worried their heads about the causes of death. Back then, it was a part of life, and no one got worked up about it,” Tomaž explained.

“Yes, that’s true, we learned about that in geography,” Žiga said.

Meanwhile, Žiga and Ines finished their work in the garden. They weeded both the flower and vegetable gardens. Ines picked lettuce for lunch.

Tomaž soon finished mowing. Žiga took a broom and started sweeping the yard, while Tomaž grabbed the mowed grass, put it in a bucket, and threw it onto the compost heap.

Karmen, meanwhile, finished her work in the bathroom. It was time to prepare lunch. She praised Matjaž, who had peeled the potatoes. Ines had already come into the kitchen with the lettuce. Matjaž helped her wash it. Karmen put the meat in the oven to bake. When Matjaž was done, he sat down again on the chair at the table. He was happy that he could help a little.

When lunch was almost ready, Tomaž and Žiga came into the kitchen.

“Are you done?” Matjaž asked them.

“Yes, we’re done. I mowed the lawn, and Žiga helped Ines weed the flower and vegetable garden and swept the yard.”

“That’s good, I’m glad. I peeled the potatoes and helped Ines wash the lettuce,” Matjaž said.

“Uncle Matjaž, my mother told me about your illness,” Žiga said confidently.

“She was talking about me?” Matjaž got upset again.

“I didn’t say anything bad, I just explained to my son about your illness and why it’s difficult for you to help. I meant no harm,” Ines said.

“Matjaž doesn’t like it when we talk about him behind his back. I just explained this to him today,” Karmen said.

“You can go and see how we did,” Tomaž said, changing the subject. “I'll take over the cooking.”

Matjaž slowly got up from his chair and walked slowly into the hallway (or anteroom). He put on his shoes, zipped up his cardigan/light jacket, and stepped out into the fresh air. The others were in short sleeves, but because he doesn't move much, he often feels cold.

He saw that the lawn was mowed and the garden was weeded.

“You did a very good job,” he praised his brother.

He returned to the house, took off his cardigan, still wearing his pullover, and sat down at the table where lunch was already served. Soon after, the others sat down at the table as well.

“Enjoy your meal,” Karmen said to everyone present.

Matjaž was grateful that his brother had come to help him and for the delicious lunch.

He was happy to have such a golden family.

After lunch, Karmen asked:

“Miha and I have decided to go for a longer walk. Will you join us?”

“Yes, with pleasure,” said Tomaž and Ines.

“Are we going somewhere I can go with the mobility scooter?” Matjaž asked.

“Yes, we will go somewhere you can go with the mobility scooter, so you will come with us. This will be a family hike/outing,” Karmen said.

Everyone was very happy. After a short rest, they put on their shoes, Matjaž put on his cardigan, and sat down on his electric mobility scooter, which was standing in the corner of the hallway.

“Okay, now let’s go,” Matjaž said.

They walked along the pavement/sidewalk through the village, then turned onto a side local road that led them across the rural plains/countryside. It was very beautiful. Everyone enjoyed it immensely, including Matjaž.

“See, Miha, now we have a family hike/outing,” Karmen said.

“You should be grateful that you have such a good family,” Matjaž said, hugging his son while sitting on the mobility scooter.

“Your nephew is enjoying it too,” Karmen said to her husband.

Žiga greatly enjoyed the walk and was in a good mood the whole time.

They walked for about an hour, stopping only long enough at the intersection of local roads to make sure the way was clear. Matjaž knew the others could walk a lot, even three hours at a time. Today's walk would be long. But he was sitting on his electric mobility scooter and was happy that he could move without getting tired.

Two hours later, they returned home, all satisfied and with smiling faces. Miha was also happy, even though it wasn't the mountain hike he had talked about in the morning.

“Next Saturday, you are invited to our place; we’ll be picking grapes in the vineyard,” Tomaž said.

“Is it time for harvesting already? It’s only the beginning of September,” Matjaž was surprised.

“Yes, it’s time for harvesting. The grapes are a little bit riper earlier this year,” Tomaž said.

Tomaž, Ines, and Žiga then said goodbye and went home.