Take a Moment

On Tuesday Andy and Angela received a text from a member of the church in Carrolton, Kentucky who had Perry and his companion over for dinner.  She wrote, "Had your son over tonight! You raised a wonderful young man! He is happy and well! He says hi!!"   I loved that she took a few minutes to express her thoughts about Perry and love that we were able to read it as well.  In a world that is so critical right now these little gestures of kindness are a wonderful gift and we should make it a point to recognize people around us who bless our lives in so many ways.

Memorial Day!

Memorial Day 2017--Thank you to the family that invited the missionaries to join them!

Graham!

                          Almost a year old and very cute!  So grateful for being able  to see pictures of our grandkids  especially  now that we are staying pretty close to home and can't visit.  

Walking with Grandpa

I like to walk with Grandpa, his steps are short like mine. He doesn’t say, “Now hurry up.” He always takes his time. I like to walk with Grandpa, his eyes see things like mine; a birdie bright, a funny cloud, a penny that really shines. Most people are in a hurry, they do not stop and see; I’m glad that God made Grandpa unrushed, and almost as young as me.

 Author: Rodney O. Hurd

Today Caleb wanted to go with him on his walk and it touched my heart as I watched them walk to the wall as they held hands and Caleb  danced around and he and grandpa pointed out things to each other.  The walk takes less than a couple of minutes but I loved to see the smiles on their faces as they came back to the car.

Now I Get It

We are in the process of dealing with what is called "Sun-downers."  I did see signs of this earlier which meant that after dinner Scott was tired and had had enough.  At that time I made the decision that I would not plan anything that would take us away from home in the evenings.  In the information I have about this they describe the symptoms as: agitated, restless, irritable, confused, disoriented, demanding, and suspicious.  The first five I see daily but he isn't suspicious although I have heard that that can happen.  Some of the things that sun-downers do is yell (not yet--and I can't ever see him doing that), pace, hear or see things that aren't there (definitely is happening) and has mood swings.  The information I read said this is very common in moderate to advanced Alzheimer's.

A couple of hours in the evening was doable and it didn't really seem like a big deal.  The problem I am now having is that for the last week 2:00 in the afternoon has become the beginning of his sun-downers episodes and from that time until bed time he is almost beside himself.  It is painful to experience the agony he seems to experience and the worst part is that I have not found anything that helps.  His attention span is very short, watching television doesn't seem to make a difference now because he can't follow the story line.  I even asked him to color a picture for Ava and Caleb from some coloring books we have.  He did it but the minute he finished he was again pacing and complaining that he didn't know what was the matter with him and wanted to know why I wasn't helping him.  I don't have any answers and we will just keep doing what we are doing.  I sometimes feel that if I can just write it down I can set it aside and get back to dealing with whatever comes my way with a smile on my face.  I am watching it, but sweet Scott is living it and that is so much worse than my personal discomfort.

Order in Chaos

I have noticed that Scott has developed a habit of rearranging things after I give them to him.  I made his lunch on Sunday and then I walked away and came back to find that he had taken the apples off the plate and arranged them neatly on the napkin I had put by his lunch.  He does this each time he sits down to eat and it is interesting to see how he adjusts his area before he begins to eat.  I  guess that in his mind it is important to have everything make sense to him--but I have to admit it doesn't make any sense to me.  It is pretty cute though!

The Language of ALZ

My neighbor lost her husband over a year ago as the result of his Alzheimer's disease and she has been a wonderful support to me.  I was out washing windows this week and she was in her back yard working. We stopped a few minutes to visit and she told me a story about her husband.  She and her husband lived in Rancho Cucamonga and his stepdaughter had come from Idaho to visit her dad.  They were going to go somewhere and as they were driving her husband asked her, "Is the gun in there?" pointing to the glove box.  She replied that is was and he responded that he was glad.  Later his daughter scolded her and told her how irresponsible Diane was for having a gun around her dad.   Diane told her that she doesn't have a gun at all, her husband meant the flashlight that they keep in the glove box.  This made perfect sense to me because Scott has a few words that only I know what he is talking about.  An example is  "the green burger!"  That is a cheeseburger at Jack in the Box which he always wants when we go there.  He doesn't know what lettuce is any more so he just calls it the--green burger.  The bathroom is "that room around there" and when he want to put on his pajamas he grabs the front of his shirt and shakes it.  I have been trying to have him do a little exercising each day so I started taking him over to walk where I walk with my friend each morning. Now it is very important to him that I don't forget so about two each afternoon he starts asking me numerous! times if he gets to go to the "wall."  His feet are now "puppies!"  He is so sincere and concerned that I understand what he is trying to tell me so I am working hard to learn his new language.  Diane told me that eventually he will stop talking altogether so for now--I am savoring every word that comes out of his mouth.

Chef Ava

 For the last year Ava and I have been cooking together most Wednesdays.  She has proven herself to be a really competent cook and hopefully she will be able to say that she loves to cook when she is out on her own.  After all of her hard work I wanted to have a little promotion program and so yesterday I surprised her with a very mini promotion ceremony!  I hope that our cooking together continues and told her that it is now her turn to decide what we will be cooking in the coming years.  Oh how I wish all of our grandkids lived close enough so I could spent time with each of them in my kitchen!

Grandma's Chef Award

Some goodies to celebrate her achievement

Can't Believe It!