Well, well, well. Here we are on my first out of the box blog. I am new to blogging not posting. I've been posting on a closed Dementia site for months and have been encouraged to go public. So, here I am.

What is a day like with a spouse that is walking the path down to Dementia Town. It is hard, not just for the person, it is most difficult for the people who are their caregivers. I'm Sweetie's caregiver, I'm also her husband. We've been married for 32 years as of now. Soon, in May, it will be 33 years. As of now, the clock on our marriage will continue to tick even when there isn't a reason to wind the clock.

I've been posting about our daily lives as I accompany Sweetie on her journey. I see the difficulty in her face when she has those moments of clarity when she tells me she "isn't any good anymore.". I cant tell her the truth, because the truth doesn't make sense to her. But I try. To comfort her, I'll tell her that she is good for me, she is all I need. Sometimes it works, sometime it doesn't. I've learned that truth isn't her truth. Dementia doesn't play between the lines. It erases the line and may or may not redraw them.

Friday is a day that never starts good. I know that I need my time away from Sweetie, so I put her into daycare 3 days a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday,  and I head to the local golf course. I don't leave her there all day, only about 4 hours, so I only play the executive course. 9 holes are better than nothing.

Sweetie is really into shadowing now. For her to be away from me for any time is devastating for her and when she realize that is where I'm taking her the cries of terror and tears flow. She knows she will be without me and that just scares her almost to death.

Once inside and a worker comes and greets her, she's fine. With a kiss and a promise to get her when I'm do, she pushes me out the door.

When I pick her up, usually around 1, I take her to McDonald's for a quick meal. As soon as we are in the car, I give her a dose of CBD Hemp oil, and by the time we've eaten and reconnected, she is calmed down enough that we can do something. Usually its heading for the nearest mall and walking the mall for about an hour. Yesterday I got the idea, go home and put her on the toilet, so she can pee before we go.

I've been worried about her being constipated, we've been on a diet of oatmeal for 2 days, and I found the reaction to our diet. Oh my what a reaction. So, we sat there and I read to her so she sat happily being the center of attention. Afterwards, it was shower time, new "underwear" and off for our walking.

I've been using CBD Hemp oil and Stress Relief aromatherapy body cream to help with her sundowners. Before we started using the oil and lotion, sundowners was a terrible time. There was her getting out of the house, trying to get into neighbor's homes, thinking she needs to help the kids inside. I had to block her from going into homes, it was just terrible.

On the Facebook site, I learned about CBD Hemp oil, and decided to give it a try. What did I have to loose? After the first dose, what a difference. The affect in her calming was a miracle. She didn't try to get out of the house, but anxiety was apparent and still is comes into play every now and then. 

We added Stress Relief Lotion when the daycare crew told me about it and how they use it to calm Sweetie. I got some and added it our regimentation to help with her sundowners. We now have evenings that are almost sundowners free. And that, my friends, are my Easter Eggs of blessing that can be found, if you look for them.

I think this is enough for this first time out. If your out, look for me, I'll be the one keeping the Shinny Side Up. God Bless.