Caregiver Tip

#26  Enjoy the Sunrise!
I have never been a morning person and I do my best work after the sun goes down.  This morning Grandpa woke up at 4:00 a.m.  I laid in bed as he walked back and forth from the bed to the bathroom where he would tell the man in the mirror he hated him and complained to him that he didn't know what to do and I thought about how painful this disease is.  Not just to Grandpa but to me.  Fortunately, I had a not so good experience on Monday morning that I didn't handle well. As I thought about how to handle this, I began to think about what needed to be done and then I had the thought, "What am I supposed to learn today?"  And I realized something--"if it's to be--it's up to me!"  It was time to get up and get busy.  I put a jacket on Grandpa and socks to keep his feet warm and then turned on the television.  Then I went into the kitchen where I made the pie crust for the pies for Thanksgiving dinner, worked on some things I made for the Thanksgiving table, and planned the day ahead.  As I was busy working the sun started to come up and the little bit of light on the horizon brought me so much happiness.  I think not being a morning person has robbed me of a sweet reminder that there truly is joy in the morning.  On the days that Grandpa sleeps in I always express gratitude, but this morning I was reminded to enjoy the sunrise!

As a caregiver it is important to understand that sleeping is often iffy.  Lately Grandpa is sleeping from 6:30 to after 8 which is definitely unexpected.  I find myself laying beside him hoping to hear him stir or breathe.  More typical up to this point has been "expect the unexpected."  He started waking up about 11 p.m. and didn't want to go back to bed, or at 4:30 a.m. and for an hour he would get up, lay back down, get up, until I accepted the fact that good night's rest wasn't going to happen.  I realized recently that I have become a hesitant sleeper.  I can feel so tired and I head to bed about 11 p.m. only to lay there unable to relax enough to sleep.  I keep trying to find the right side to sleep on, or how far to stick my foot outside of the covers, or I keep fluffing my pillow.  During the day I often sit at the computer working on various projects and will wake up from a power nap I didn't intend to take.  I had heard a beautiful song when I was listening to the Tabernacle Choir which says, "When you are tired and you can't sleep, count your blessings, instead of sheep. And you'll go to sleep counting your blessings!"  I can't say that that puts me to sleep but it truly does remind me of all the blessings that I have been given.