Christmas music.

Dehydration trip to hospital. 

I think I better explain this picture. It was over 4 years ago when we experienced our first dehydration collapse. Scared shitless, I call 911 and we ended up in the emergency room. Of course I called the son, and next thing I knew, and expected, the phony family wars called a truce and everyone showed up. After we got out of the hospital, the wars renewed.

Is it me, or am I wishing for the impossible? Then again, it this normal? It all depends on how you look at it. In most cases, I'd as it is abby-normal, but in this case, that means it is normal.  I try to not let them bother me, because it has been this way for the time Sweetie and me have been married. So I carry on as best as I can. 

Today we are going over to the son's house for pizza and conversation. I so look forward to these outings. I may not be away from Sweetie during these outings, but it is the next best thing. I think it is the openness and adult conversation that makes the time with them special. I feel so refreshed when we leave. I have to remember to dote over the grandkids. They all bye for our attention when we arrive, it is so nice. 

There is also a secondary reason for me, Thanksgiving. It is on the calendar and coming soon. I am attempting to milk and invitation somewhere. Otherwise, it will just be another day with Sweetie. As you can guess, the holidays don't mean much to her. 

One of the local radio stations is already playing Christmas carols, and I'm loving it. Christmas is my most favorite times of the year. So, for now, I have our Alexia playing Christmas music, and in the car, listening to the same. Sweetie will just sit there look out at nothing while we are in the car. If I start to sing along, which I do, with the tones, she will join in with me. If I'm not singing, she goes back to looking out the window. 

Found out the hard way, and it just came to me. Dementia doesn't like the cold. Yesterday while on the course, Sweetie acted out again. It was colder then I though. She was OK for awhile, then the acting out, wanting to get away, yelling at me until I got her back into the car. She calmed down and it wasn't until I telling you about this that it dawned on me. 

Because Sweetie doesn't know what to do, or what to tell me, she awakes Mr. Sundowner and together they put on a show. The show is titled, "I'm cold, and don't know how to get warm." I forget about her comfort, because I'm able to understand and handle the cooler weather, she cannot. I believe that Dementia cools the body so that it might feel 5-10 degrees colder then what it really is and no matter how much I bundle her up, she is going to be cold. 

Isn't He sneaky? Driver, He uses everything to educate me about Sweetie, even this blog. He is willing to do what it takes to keep me together, for we have many more miles to go until we reach our destination, Dementia Town. I get so wrapped up with my wants, that I don't see what is happening right before my eyes. I'm so thankful for His wisdom and the way it shows up. I give thanks for my Driver, as we travel together, down the Road to Dementia Town, Keeping our Shiny Side Up. C'ya, Luv ya, and God Bless.  

 

The blessings?

Sweetie and her tree.

Sweetie loves trees and just about anything that is green and growing. When we first bought our home, it was the view across the Rio Grande, of the Sandia mountains that was outstanding. She wanted trees, and I didn't, as you can see who won that argument. We still have a view, not as much as I would prefer. As I sit here next to the window, there is quite a spectacular view of the mountains framed between trees. 

As the trees grow, it makes the view that much better. If I want to see more, all I have to do is go outside and get between the trees and there it is, in its full grandeur, the New Mexico mountains of the Sandia's and Mountaineer. 

I get to watch the sun move north and south up and down the mountains as the seasons change. Right now, when the sun comes up, it comes up so far south, it is almost off the Sandia's. Soon, it will reach its low point, and begin its trek north. Back to shining into my room, and lighting up the gloom. 

When the sun comes north this year, what will come with it. How much will Sweetie decline next year? Will that be the year I put her in a faciality? Or will it be I'll keep her home with me and bring in help? These are the questions that I have to face, not yet, but put the old gray matter to work in the background of my mind. There it can work on a solution and feed me information as needed. 

Our day was interesting to say the least. We went through our normal morning of waking, and trying to get her to eat something for breakfast. She ate about half her cereal, and drank her ensure. I think I'm going to start giving her not as much cereal and more Ensure to supply her nutrition. 

Then up to brush our teeth and get ready for the day. One of our things is I shave her chin and so far I don't have any real problems doing it, and she cooperates with me getting it done. I worry about when she won't let me do this simple service for her. I just cannot image her with a goatee. 

I'm struggling with her and brushing her teeth. She'll get started and then stop, act as if she is in pain, and stop brushing. I've tried getting her to brush with and without tooth paste, and that didn't help. I just worry about her dental health. The men in my support group, say that it is normal, they all have been through this stage. 

Had some difficulty at the golf course yesterday. Things were going fine, until the last hole. Sweetie wanted to stay in the cart when I was teeing off, not normal. Hit a great shot, par 3, and was on the green. When I went back to the cart, she was wanting to go, and I knew Mr. Sundowners was waking up early. I had to stop her from wondering around the course and trying to talk to everyone. I got her back to the car, gave her a dose of CBD, and in about a half hour she was coming back to me. It seems that I need to give her her balance medicine more and more these days. What a blessing Hemp Oil has been for us. 

Blessings, isn't that what life is for, being blessed. Just what are they, the blessings? As my Driver puts it, they are seeing the beauty of a sunrise, or sunset. Finding an answer that seems to come out of nowhere, and at the same time being able to say, "Thank you Lord." for that idea or solution, or that friend that shows up and an unexpected time just when you need it. For me, it is something as physical as Hemp Oil. For it allows us to have somewhat of a normal life. The simple fact of waking up and going asleep and the hours in-between. The simple stuff that my Driver shows me as we travel the Road to Dementia Town, Keeping our Shiny Side Up. C'ya, Luv ya, and God Bless.     

 

Few hours of tranquility.

Sweetie loved rosters. 

Its cold outside. The weather seems to have gone straight from pleasant cool autumn to cold winter. It looks like because of the temperatures being a low as they are, outside activities maybe curtailed. 

It is strange how Sweetie seems to be two different people. In the morning, she is becoming more of a curmudgeon then the sweet woman I know and love. The breakfast routine continues. So, I'm looking for something that she will be willing to eat. For now, I'll just have to muddle through, but her apatite does seem to improve as the day goes on. 

I was able to get her in the shower yesterday. I did the old routine of "I'm going to take a shower, you like to join me?". She was more than willing to get into the shower with me. Another reason I am persistent about the shower is, I can get her naked and on the scale. I track her weight at least once a month and am happy to report, she weights the same 114lbs for the past 3 months. She is skinny, but she still maintains that weight. Maybe I shouldn't be that concern of her eating habits yet. Weight consistency seems to be under control.

It is when she wakes up and is light headed when she sits up, and the length of time for her to get her feet under herself is what is the real problem. She is like an old car that you have to start over and over again before it's motor fires up and stays running. 

Last night was a wonderful time. After dinner, she stepped in and started washing the dishes. Yes, I said washing the dishes. So, I picked up the towel and dried and put away. After that we sat and cuddled on the couch until bed time. It was as if I was being rewarded for taking care of her. An Easter Egg for sure. 

And there He is again, for all the trouble, for all the heartache, He washes it away with a few hours of tranquility. I know my Driver was in total control last night, and with that grin on His face, He knows that I know. I know that there are also more curves ahead, and as long as He is behind the wheel, it is going to be OK. As we travel down the Road to Dementia Town, sitting back in the passenger's seat, with my cool sunglasses on, we are gone, with our Shiny Sides Up. C'ya, Luv ya, and God Bless.