Sunday, October 31

sunday all hallows eve

number of times Mom woke up last night: 0 - two nights in a row...very special!

what we watched last night:
What a Girl Wants-one my my favorite
cheery movies


what we had for supper last night: macaroni and cheese, brocolli and a wee glass of wine for both of us



We will all be home for Halloween tonight and have some Reese's peanut butter cups to enjoy...perhaps a bonfire? Certainly no scary movies for Mom, tho' that has never been a part of our quiet celebration. Even the slightly magical or other-worldly movies we might have watched in the past might cause her anxiety now,so we shall see how it goes.



Saturday, October 30

all dressed up and no place to go



number of times Mom woke up last night: 0 Callooh, Callay! That must be why I am up and refreshed early in the morning for the first time in a long time. Thankful, thankful.

what we watched: the recorded Oprah show with the reunion of everyone from The Sound of Music

what we had for supper: vegetable soup and bread, water....very simple






Yesterday turned out to be a hard day. Mom really dragged during the dusting and seemed remote most of the day. She even woke up a few times during her afternoon nap, which is very unusual. It felt just like the days when my children were little as my mom went for her nap and I started turning out the mudroom, counting the minutes for my menfolk to leave for town and the resulting few hours of solitude I would have while my mom slept. Just a few minutes before they left, Mom woke up and didn't want to go back to sleep when I told her that she had a long time left for nap-time.

I was a grump when I kissed my guys goodbye and continued cleaning while Mom read in her chair in the living room. Imagine my surprise when I checked on her 15 minutes later and found the chair empty and her door closed. When I peeked in her room, she was getting back under the covers and when I went to give her a kiss she said "You were right-as always-I am too sleepy to stay awake."
: )

I dropped everything else and hied myself to the sunny kitchen sofa with a cup of coffee and some maple cookies and my book and solitude. I wallowed in it for 45 minutes or so before she was up again....all dressed, with her purse on her shoulder. I explained we weren't going anywhere and we both settled down to a quiet rest-of-the-afternoon.

Later that evening as I washed up our few dishes and Mom pondered whether she would go to bed or not, she came near me and I watched her face, seeing she was at loose ends. I asked her about it and after some grasping for words she said "I just don't feel like myself....nothing feels right." These are the hard moments....because she isn't herself and it isn't right....but she doesn't know why and I do but I can't make it better. Not much anyway. I told her that we all feel that way sometimes and I joked with her that "She certainly looks like herself...and very beautiful that is."

And I see on the monitor that my beautiful mom is awake, so I must return to the house (I am writing from my new studio for the first time!). And I am hoping that today, with a good night's rest, Mom will feel herself.

Friday, October 29

friday, the last of October

number of times Mom woke up last night: 4 (two while we were still awake and needed conversation to help her back to bed, two during the night-but she went back to sleep on her own)

what we watched: Quality Street, B & W, old Katherine Hepburn. Charming and delightful....very Cranford-esque

what we had for supper: Trader Joe's Pizza, arugula from the garden, small glass of wine for me, pomegranate juice for Mom



That will be all for now as it is our day to clean the house. Mom is the duster, I am the vacuumer and bathroom scrubber. I got Mom started on the dusting so that I could quickly post this....she decided to start in the kitchen and playfully dusted my husband as he sat in the chair!

Thursday, October 28

starting again.....






....I believe it is a rather human tendency not to communicate as much when things are going well. And things have been going fairly well, no major problems, my emotions about my mom's state are under control for now, we have a pretty good rhythm going....

But this is a caregiving journal. And when I started it, I wanted it to be both full of the little daily things that are a part of caregiving and the big thoughtful things that cross my mind and heart. I wanted it to be just the sort of place another caregiver could look forward to visiting everyday just to hear a little something from someone else walking the same path. And some place to share the deeper things sometimes, as they would certainly be better gotten out than kept in.

So I am starting again. And I will be playing with a list of sorts to fill in every day, about the day before......how Mom slept, what we watched, anything funny or notable said, etc. It will help me to remember things, perhaps help me to see patterns, and lists are easy and satisfying. I hope that any caregivers who find my little spot here will find something worthwhile if I devote myself to writing here much more often.

Beginning again.....