Normal varies from day to day.

My Sweetie  

I know I've promised to get some more current pictures of Sweetie and me, but to tell the truth, I don't feel much like pictures. Maybe that feeling will change soon. Friday is her birthday, and I will need to take pictures of that special day. 

In the past, I got numbered candles and put them on her cake. I'll do it again this year, yet I don't hold my breath that she will know that she has to blow them out. It is the effort that counts, not the reaction by Sweetie. 

I'm sure that she will not know what the celebration is all about, and that is the crux of the matter. I can tell her until I'm blue in the face that it is her birthday, and yet, does she even have the concept of what a "birthday" is or means? 

I try to live our lives in a way of what you might call normal, and whatever normal is. And our normal varies from day to day. 

Wednesday

Can't really tell if she is awake yet, but it is getting late in the morning. The sun is up, the sky is blue, and the stillness of the bushes outside tell me it is going to be another wonderful day this day. 

She is awake, and so I open the drapes a little to let the sunshine in. She seems happy to see me, and I start my script again. It helps her to have some point of recognition when she wakes up. 

There are mornings that I'm sure she doesn't know where she is, or who she is, let alone me. At the same time, it helps me to remind myself of who I am, and that she is my most important priority. 

In my script, I tell her that she has been sick for awhile, and that even though she is getting better, she isn't well yet. I also tell her that I've been helping her until she gets totally well. I know that it isn't the truth, but I doubt that she knows that. I find that it helps her relax a little when it comes to getting started on the day. 

This morning, she seemed ready to get out of bed until she tried to move her legs. With a cry out pain, that movement stopped. It took me moving her legs to get her out of the bed. Standing, and holding me, we waited for her to catch her balance and off to the potty to get going. 

She is wet, not dirty, which bothers me. It looks like we are going through another bout with constipation, so prune juice is on the breakfast menu. 

It seems to be this way with her, I get her to loosen up, and then she is too loose. So, I stop the prune juice and potatoes every night, and she bounds right back up again. Oh well, such is life with Sweetie. 

At the course, the women's league has changed their start time from 9 to 10, and they are still teeing off when we get there. It is somewhat of a pain in the backside. I don't have the luxury of waiting until they are gone and I can follow. 

As it turns out, I can tee off on the back nine, which is something new for me. Haven't played the back nine in years. I was surprised on how long the holes were. And how much it took out of Sweetie. 

When we got home, it was potty and lunch time. I'd put a bowl of fruit and cottage cheese out for her when we were done in the bathroom. She came out, ate some, and headed for her nest. 

I needed to put Christmas up, and so while she was nesting, I got started on my well put off chore. When I was finished, she was up, and so I took this oppertunity to head out to the mall. 

After we had finished our first lap, she was walking head down, and leaning foward as we went. This is her "I'm out of gas" walk. I directed us to the nearest exit, and out we went, into the car and home. 

This is where we finished our evening, following the script to the letter. One of the suprising parts was the earliness of our retiring. It was just after 7 when I couldn't keep my eyes open, and she seemed to be in the same mood. 

So, back to the bedroom we went, got her in bed, and I did my last walk through making sure the house was secure for the night, and back I went to join her. Prayers and sleep is what came next to end our day. 

Just a bump or two on this days journey on the Road to Dementia Town. It was so good, that even Driver was pleased with our driving, especially on how long we were able to Keep Our Shiny Side Up. C'ya, Luv Ya, and God Bless.