Dementia: AA, Bachelor, Masters, PHD, Doctorate, and still not enough.

My Sweetie.

Yesterday was the 7th anniversary of sobriety. I have to tell you all this, because it is one of the reasons I am able to care for Sweetie as I do. Before I became a member of AA, I was a wreck, going from on block to another, wrecking everything that was in my path. Before AA, I was blaming everything on everyone but me. Since AA, I've come to understand me, and find me in time to help us go through our trip to Dementia Town. 

I have to say, this is the greatest life lesson that I can learn. Being a caregiver is life university, there is only one graduation, and that is when the professor retires. In the beginning, it is like getting my high school graduation, then on to junior college for my AA in caregiving. As I'm caring for Sweetie, I need more education, so I go back and get my Bachelor's in Caregiving. Thinking that will do it, but no. Soon it is back to school again, for my Master's, then PHD, and now I'm working on my Doctorate. 

Caregiving isn't a simple 6 week course, or a home study, it is a life time of learning crammed into what seems to be a never ending study. With early morning cram session, late night quizzes, with no final exam, no walking down the aisle in your cap and gown, seemly endless testing. 

Then there are the Spring Break times, or the Summer Vacation times when I can think, OK, we've settled in to a zone that will be easy. And just like that, it is time to hit the books because there is another test-a-coming.

This is where my life programing comes into play. If I was the old me, there is no way I could handle this. It is over whelming, there isn't any other way to put it. It can wash me away at any moment. 7 years sober, 7 years of AA's 12 step program, 7 years of caring for Sweetie, and all of that hammering and chiseling, sanding and shaping in the hands of my Driver, has made me soft, pliable, and yet seemly strong and durable. 

Sweetie and I will make it all the way to the end of our trip together. You know why I know this. Because I'm not the one running the show, I'm not driving the car on this Road to Dementia Town. I have a Driver who cares about the both of us. He stops along the way so we can get out and see the mighty vistas, or sit in the shade of a tree, listening to the babbling brook. He isn't just my Driver, He is hers too. I maybe in the shotgun seat, she is in the back as we travel down the Road to Dementia Town, smiling as we Keep Our Shiny Side Up. May you find what you need as you travel down the Road to Dementia Town, Keeping your Shiny Side Up. Have a great day. Love Ya, and God Bless.