Kerplunk.

At the zoo with son & grandson.

Kerplunk, and I'm happy to hear that sound. It means that I got Sweetie to the toilet in time. As you know, I've been having a time with her bowel movements. She is so not regulated, it is frustrating. I remember when I could put her on the toilet, read to her and nature would do the rest. Now it isn't so easy. If I try to get her to go, she complains and wants to get up, and if I check too often, she gets belligerent, and won't work with me. She gets that way naturally, so it will take some 5 to 10 minutes of talking, soothing, and then the crying stage before she allows me to check and take care of her. 

Lately, she is getting stubborn as to allowing me to clean her up. She won't lift herself up so I can wipe her, and I have to encourage her to help with the process. Oh the times ahead. 

This disease is so frustrating. Because of the fact it is a sliding disease. Always progressing down ward into the darkness of Dementia, yet at the same time, there seems to be a concentrated effort, to return back to a earlier time. The looks, the eyes, the tenderness of words she will use. She will notice things that she hasn't noticed in 6 months, and then she won't remember 5 minutes ago. I know, I know, short term memory is the looser here, it is just that I keep getting that little spark of joy when she has those moments of remembrance. 

Well, this is the week of Thanksgiving and hopefully we will be thankful. I know I am, for we are still together, still enjoying each other, still able to do some traveling. Our life together is, on a scale of 1-10, I'd say about a 5. As in a prayer of mine, the Serenity Prayer, there is a line, "That I maybe Reasonably Happy in this Life..." I keep repeating that to myself, for as I weight everything, I can say "I am Reasonably Happy" and that is good. 

I can see out of the side of my vision, the little grin on Driver's face. Your getting it, is the message that He is sending me. For He knows the other part of that line, "And Supremely happy with You, forever in the next." Dementia Town is only a jumping off place. And wherever you jump off to, may you be Supremely Happy when you get there, and forever more. We won't know until we get there, as we drive down the Road to Dementia Town, with our Shiny Side Up. C'ya, Luv Ya, and God Bless.