Hope for the best.

Grandma and all the grandboys.

Weekend behind us, and the week before us. Love the play on words as we march through the month of March. Month 3 of 12, and soon I'll be saying, "Where did the year go? Here we already in March, doesn't seem like we were just in January." By the way, if you didn't notice it, March has 5 Sundays in it.

Yesterday was my turn it speak a message at the rehab center. The people there range from dementia, to some physical or emotional problems. Most of them seem to understand what is going on around them, and then there are those who come because it is the thing to do on Sunday.  My message was on Hope. 

How much do we depend on hope to get us through the day. We can hope that the worse thing we can imagine doesn't happen? Or we can hope that the best that we can imagine does. Hope can lift us up, and that is the best part of hope, or it can let us down which usually happens. With my Sweetie, my hope that a cure for her could happen, the chances of that happening is next to slim and none, and slim just left town. So what can I hope for? 

I can hope for a sunshine filled day where we can walk outside and listen to the birds. See a rabbit or cat or something that you can't see while walking in the mall. I can hope for those brief moments when Sweetie knows who I am. I can hope that when I leave Sweetie someplace while I go away for a vacation, she will somehow understand. I can hope that our normal will be a normal for a day or two. I can hope that every time we make a trip to the bathroom, she is successful. I can hope that when she wakes up, we have clean sheets. I can hope that when I fix her something to eat, she eats all of it. 

On the other hand, if I'm hoping for all these things, and I know that most won't happen, there are things I can do to lessen my disappointments when my hopes don't happen. First of all, I can realize that life is going to happen and with life, there are events that I know won't happen. As Sweetie moves down the road to Dementia Town, she will loose control of her body functions, her language skills (more than she has already lost) will decline. There are the facts of Dementia, the brain slowly dies and with its dying, it takes the body with it.  

Sweetie just loves to go with me when I deliver my message. Her father was a preacher and to see me speaking, I think it reminds her of her dad. She will, in her way, tell me how much she liked it, how she watched the people and how she could see them reacting to me. She is so emotional in her telling that she will cry. That my friends is one Easter Egg that I'll miss. 

We spent the day between watching TV and mall walking. I would have been happy to just watch TV all day. I know she cannot do that. She has to get out and do something. When she starts getting restless, I know its time to turn off the TV and head for the mall. 

We finished our day with a meeting and then off to bed. So, I reached out and grabbed my basket to see if there were any Easter Eggs in it. Yep, I got 3, and into the memory vault they go. What, you want to know what they were. OK, if you didn't get the first one, the message. The other two? Walking the mall, seeing the families with small kids, and my limerick singing to Sweetie, and last, no sundowners yesterday. My timing with Hemp Oil and Lotion was right on.  

The sky is lighting up, the silhouettes of the Sandia's  is beginning to form and I know it is time for me to get going. Using the dawn as my timekeeper is nice. Driver will soon be here, ready and waiting for our daily trip down to road to Dementia Town. I'll be glad when the mornings warm up and I can wear just a t-shirt and shorts. Yep, there He is, time to go. You'll see us on the road, hope the sun bouncing off our car doesn't blind ya, because we'll be having our Shinny Side Up. Don't worry about my Driver and glaring sun light bouncing off your Shinny Side, 'cause He's got His cool sunglasses on, too. God Bless.