Busy Fridays & Bad Memories

3.22.13 Super busy day!

I'm making time to blog briefly today.  I hit the ground running today - literally!  The regular 5am working then to DD to get a wrap and cup of skim milk coffee (and get the hubby a diabetic coffee full of creme and sugar and the kid a donut....hey it's Friday!) then back out to hit up a consignment sale (I know, I know) and then off to Target to get baby supplies (face it, they beat the crap out of Walmart), then to Chic Fil A (I know, I know, I know but I didn't get an original and steered away from all bread)....that was one hell of a run on sentence.

So now I'm back and just in time to shower (notice I worked out and didn't post got a shower in that entirely too long run on).  The shower is done, I smell delicious and feel great.  So it is time to head out again....

I'm taking my grandma to the doctor.  Nothing new, we all have elderly family members who decorate waitingrooms like bland pictures of the ocean or mountains.  My grandma is a little different though.  Some of you who are at home with the kid would welcome a chance to get out, minus the kids, to take your grandma on a doc run.  It is child free time right?  What if I say wrong? 

My grandmother has dementia and it is the alzheimers style.  It started a few months after my grandfather died in 2008.  It has progressively became worse - as is expected.  Alzheimers is what I envision hell to be like.  Waking up each day and not remembering some of the most basic things about your life and routine.  Taking too many medications or not enough.  Eating lunch twice or not eating all day because you can't remember the last time you did.  Forgetting people you once had a friendship with.  Forgetting visits that were just a few days ago or phone calls that were only a couple hours prior.

Alzheimers is hell.

The caregivers need all the support in the world.  There's nothing more arduous than watching your mother, father, or grandparent forget their lives and need more and more special care. There's nothing more heart wrenching than watching the person who cared for you for so long become your child.  They need your time, attention, patience just as much as your three year old.  They need to be comforted when they become overwhelmed by the shear fact they cannot remember a basic daily routine, a name, and as it progresses the loss of control of their bodies.  Just as your small child gets over stimulated and needs mommy to reassure them they are loved and ok your parent or grandparent needs that hug to reassure them they are ok and there is just a new normal taking place.

My grandmother's personality is slowly falling into a reverse. She's not moving forward but going backwards and becoming a person who seems further away from us.  The words that come out of her mouth and the things she does are making it feel as if she's on an island and we're trying to get to her from the land.  We're just trying to build a boat that can link us so no one drowns in the process of mental deterioriation or trying to give great care.

So today as I drop my kids off to hang out with my dad (oh dear!) I'll have another kid in the car with me.  I'll spend time grittng my teeth because alzheimers makes you angry.  I'll spend time feeling sorrow for her because alzheimers makes you sad.  I'll spend time explaining things just as I do to my five year old.  I'll miss my grandma when I look at this person whose mind I just don't know.  I will take good care of her and thank God she's not in a bed suffering.  Though the cup may look half empty it is also half full.

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I didn't have time to search for a pin today but I got a save-the-day text.

If you are cleaning this weekend and you have tiles and grout that need a good cleaning to gleam once again then guess what?  Nicole shared that via Pinterest she learned that Clorox Toilet Bowl Cleaner can be used to clean tile/grout.  She tried it and said it is shining bright!

I love when a product has more than one use!  It makes me feel like I'm not getting ripped a new one. 

Thanks Nicole for sharing!

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See you next week with fun ideas of teaching Easter to your little ones (and big ones for that matter).

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Be good to one another -


Brownie

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