Actuality
I cowered in my daughter’s office for a good 45 minutes before joining my mom and a friend of her’s for lunch yesterday. Mom was surprised to see me, and was willing to go to the walk-in clinic. The test result for a UTI was negative, but the doctor, based on empirical evidence, decided to […]
Confabulation
Mom called this evening to tell me Daughter #2 told her the EEG results were looking good, and it’d just be a matter of days before she could return home. This was a surprise as I talked to mom’s Island doctor’s office today, and they were, in that moment, unable to locate the test results. […]
Dipping back in…
This coming Wednesday will be the first time I’ve seen my mom in almost 3 weeks. The first week was by design (a needed break), and the last week and a half has been because I’ve been sick with a sinus/bronchial horror that has had me oscillating between self pity, and wondering how to market […]
Catastrophic Reactions
I learned a new term yesterday: Catastrophic Reactions, defined as ‘highly emotional over-reactions to relatively benign issues.’ This simple, but powerful term, captures SO much of my mother’s irrational behavior. Everything from coming unhinged because she wasn’t handed a paper bag, to snapping at people when they don’t instantly respond to her, to, most recently, […]
February 24, 2017 ~ Flower & Garden Show
Mom and I went to our regional flower and garden show on Friday. I usually attend three of the five days, taking in as many lectures as I can (many of which count for continuing education for my various horticultural certificates & licenses). This year I managed to attend one and a half days. S’ok! […]
End of Life Relationships
I am so thankful for the relationship I had with my father at the end of his life. It was whole, teenage years being long forgiven on both of our parts. I had learned to listen openly to his thoughts and ideas that, sometimes, were not always like my own, or that I didn’t necessarily […]
February 21, 2017, Post EEG
Mom was in a mini-dither as we tried to head to the hospital from the AL community. It was colder than she realized. Should she get her vest. All she had were her insurance cards. The policies were on the Island. What did I think about all these worries. I assured her it was all […]
February 21, 2017, Pre-EEG
The last few days have, expectedly, seen a sharp increase in communication from mom, much of it repetitive to the point that I’ve let a number of her calls go to voice mail. Who knew that one’s voice mail system would become a crucial part of self-care? As a matter of fact, I won’t take […]
Dementia Dance - Travels with Mom 