Sunday, March 17, 2024

Irish for the Day

As I drove to the post office Saturday morning, I noticed a lot of commotion around Ohio Street. It took a minute for my mind to click in and realized the St. Patrick’s Day Parade was about to begin. My biggest concern was whether I could get out of town without backtracking.

I didn’t stay for the parade because I had a busy day ahead of me. As I drove out of town, I ruminated about St. Patrick’s Days of the past.

At one time, our Alzheimer’s Walk Committee participated in the St. Patrick's Day parade. One year, we were brave enough to sign up for the bed races. We didn't have to build a bed since another group had loaned us their bed from the previous year. We put the smallest kid in our group in the driver’s seat and our fastest people to push. As our group huffed and puffed their way down Ohio Street, Ginger lost her shoe. The good news was that we won Second Place…the bad news was only two beds were in the competition that year.

During the parade, the announcers promoted our dance and auction coming up in the evening. As soon as the parade finished, we rushed to set up the silent auction and arrange the items chosen for the live auction. Our celebrity auctioneer, country music singer Leroy Van Dyke, always drew a crowd. Leroy jokingly said that it was amazing how much work a person could do when they volunteered.

In keeping with the holiday theme, gooseberry pie was always a premium auction item. Ted Distler, the Jefferson City Alzheimer’s Walk chair, and I, the Sedalia Walk chair, were always the final two bidders for the pie. Once our friendly competition ended with a successful bid, the winner sliced the pie and shared with the other. 

On St. Patrick’s Day, everyone is Irish. Now the big event of the day and evening is the Pub Crawl. Yes, Irish and drinking do tend to go together. My favorite alcoholic beverage is Irish coffee.

My thoughts turned to the tour of Ireland that my sister and I took in 2005. Going to Ireland had always been on my bucket list, and I was not disappointed! I loved the old castles, the Irish people, and the green, green grass. Throughout our travels in the Emerald Isle, I had many moments of déjà vu. The landscape, castle ruins, Cliffs of Moher, and ancient cemeteries with their scenic arches tugged at my heartstrings. I kissed the blarney stone, as if I needed a better gift of gab than I already have.

Our tour guide regaled us with stories about leprechauns and how these magical, wee creatures hold the key to the “luck of the Irish.” Leprechauns are tricksters, and the reason we wear green is to keep them from pinching us. Personally, I’ve only been pinched by people, with nary a leprechaun to be seen.

Yes, everyone wants to be Irish for a day—St. Patrick’s Day. I would rather be magically transported to Ireland for a day. 

As this St. Patrick’s Day comes to a close, I hope you’ve had a day filled with luck as abundant as the shamrocks in Ireland. Until next year, “May the road rise to meet you and the wind be always at your back.”

 

Copyright © March 2024 by L.S. Fisher

http://earlyonset.blogspot.com

#ENDALZ

Friday, March 15, 2024

Turn a Deaf Ear

 

Several years ago, I went to see my family physician for an earache. He told me I had an ear infection and sent some medicated drops home with me. The throbbing in my ear stopped when blood trickled down my neck. I called the doctor and told him about the new development. He assured me that I wasn’t going to bleed to death from my ear. (Guess he never saw the same westerns I had!) My eardrum had ruptured, and he said it would most likely heal on its own.

Once the incessant buzzing stopped, I figured I was good to go. I never noticed a problem until I took a hearing test as part of a workplace health fair. “You have a slight loss of hearing in your right ear,” the technician told me.

Eventually, I noticed that if someone spoke softly in my right ear it was the “wah wah wah” sound much like Charlie Brown’s teacher. It finally occurred to me that I was unintentionally turning a deaf ear.

 It’s annoying to have hearing loss in one ear, but it does make me stop to consider that at times turning a deaf ear is advantageous. “Turning a deaf ear” is an idiom for ignoring what another person says. When I was a caregiver for Jim, I learned to turn a deaf ear at times. 

·     Turn a Deaf Ear to Negativity: A caregiver has enough challenges without outsiders heaping negativity on them. Negative people sap precious energy that you will need to make all the decisions necessary to provide the daily care your loved one needs. There’s no better way to ruin a day than to listen to someone who finds fault with how you are handling the difficult choices you need to make.

·       Turn a Deaf Ear to Criticism:  There’s a lot of truth to the old saying that everyone is a critic. I’ve known a few people in my life that think criticizing others makes them look better. When a caregiver is doing her best, no one else has the right to criticize. If the job of caregiving is overwhelming and the best solution is to seek professional care, it becomes a family matter. When I made that difficult long-term care decision for Jim, I only cared what my kids and his mom had to say. Once we were in agreement, I turned a deaf ear to everyone else.

·       Turn a Deaf Ear to Self Doubt: As a caregiver, you need to learn to ignore that nagging voice in your head that constantly runs through the “should have—could haves.” Once you’ve made a caregiving decision, you need to stop doubting yourself. Self doubt is fraught with negative emotions: anxiety, indecision, depression, and guilt. I’ve known caregivers that had to seek psychological and pharmaceutical help. There’s no shame in taking care of your healthcare needs with professional guidance.

·       Turn a Deaf Ear to Gossip: When you are doing what is best for you and your loved one, don’t give credence to the opinion of someone who has not walked in your shoes. Here’s a helpful hint—no one has ever walked in your shoes but you! 

The good thing about turning a deaf ear is that you don’t actually have to be deaf in one ear. All it takes is a positive mindset to turn a deaf ear when necessary, but listen with both ears to trusted advice on best practices for caring for your loved one with dementia.

When you type alz.org into your browser, you will find answers to almost all the questions that you have about the disease, caregiving, or how to get involved in the fight to end Alzheimer’s. The 24/7 Helpline 800-272-3900 is prominently displayed at the top of the home screen.

When Jim was first diagnosed, I knew nothing about Alzheimer’s or dementia. Throughout my caregiving journey, I trusted the Alzheimer’s Association to steer me in the right direction, and they did.

Copyright © March 2024 by L.S. Fisher

http://earlyonset.blogspot.com

#ENDALZ

Thursday, February 29, 2024

This Old Car

 

When I was a kid, we lived in the Ozarks and the only music we ever heard on the radio was country music. I remember a song called “This Old House.” After I’d heard the song several times, I realized that the song wasn’t about a house at all, but about a human body.

Back in the day, you just figured things out on your own, but now we have the internet, and I was curious about the song. I found a treasure! Stuart Hamblen, the man who wrote the song told the story of finding a dilapidated log house while he was on a hunting trip in the Sierra Mountain range. The old house was falling down and when a dog came out of the house, Stuart went inside and found a man who had passed away. He wrote the song while outside the house, and many people thought the song was only about the old house, but Stuart says the song is about two houses. “…the other house, the mortal house that the maker of man has loaned to the man for such a short, short time.”**

Why did such a thought cross my mind? I was thinking about my old car, a 2010 Chevy Malibu. I bought the car new as my “retirement” car, and I’m still driving it 110,000 miles later. After all the nasty weather a few weeks ago, and after a drive down a country road, my car looked pathetic. It was making a loud noise, which I hoped was from the tires.

This car and I have traveled a lot of miles and been through a lot in the past thirteen years. I couldn’t help but compare myself to the car, which is definitely an upgrade from “This Old House.” We’ve both suffered some bumps and dings over the years. Fortunately, neither one of us have had any accidents. We have to recharge our batteries and change the oil regularly. We’ve had a few flat tires, and scraped up our fancy wheels. We are both a little worse for the wear, but I think we’re in pretty good shape for the shape we’re in.

Still, in my mind, I was a little worried about the noise…and I went online car shopping. I couldn’t find anything that really caught my eye. The prices on new vehicles are shocking, so I thought it might be much more feasible to give my car some TLC. My Malibu has been a dependable low-maintenance car and I couldn’t see taking a chance on finding another great vehicle.

During one of the recent warm days, I took my car through the carwash and saw the beauty of the red jewel color sparkle. It reminded me of the time I’d just washed my car and went to the Post Office. As I pulled in, this old gentleman told me, “That is the most beautiful car I’ve ever seen.” Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I like the looks of the car too.

I made an appointment to have an oil change and have the sound investigated. Yes, it was the tires. With an oil change and new front tires, we’re back in business.

If there’s a point to this story, it would be that for a car (or a body) to last, we need checkups and regular maintenance. Sometimes the noise (or pain) isn’t anything to worry about, but better safe than sorry. Here’s to hoping that my car’s engine (and my brain) keeps on clicking on all cylinders for many years to come.


**Find “This ‘Ole House – Story Behind the Song Told by Stuart Hamblen” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNzcGxl5nk8

Copyright © Feb 2024 by L.S. Fisher

http://earlyonset.blogspot.com

#ENDALZ

Healthy Habits are Good for your Brain

 


During the past twenty years, I’ve followed Alzheimer’s research, and have had a front seat to many disappointments. Currently, I’m pleased that significant progress has been made and promising new treatments can slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

Many years ago when I served on the Alzheimer’s Chapter Board of Directors, I learned that a healthy lifestyle was the most effective way to delay the onset of age-related dementia.

Most of us blissfully move through life with confidence that our brains are clicking along like a well-oiled machine. Sure, we may not be able to multi-task as well as we could in our younger years. We also learn that stress can cause us to fumble around, make miscues, and have occasional mental glitches. Although these age-related changes can be concerning, as long as they don’t interfere with our daily life, we haven’t developed dementia.

Lifestyle changes are good for our bodies, our hearts, and our brains. The possibilities are endless, but I’ve listed seven changes that are within reach for most people.      

1.    Enough Sleep: I might as well start with the one that is my biggest challenge. I’ve become a night owl, but wake up around five or five-thirty in the morning. If I go to bed early, I toss and turn and stay awake later than if I just go to bed around midnight as usual. When I go to bed late, I can read for ten minutes and go to sleep. A short nap during the day helps me feel rested.

2.    Healthy eating habits: We all have our downfalls when it comes to eating. I’ve found through the years, that I can add fruit and vegetables to my diet on a regular basis and maintain a healthy weight. I’ve found that crash diets, are more like crash and burn diets. Yo-yo dieting is harder on your health than carrying a few extra pounds.

3.    Social Interaction: I think we all learned the lesson of the importance of social interaction during the pandemic lockdowns. We realized we needed to spend time with friends and family, and some of us need to feel that we are helping make the world better in our own small way. Volunteer work increases social interaction, provides learning opportunities, and helps us feel useful. 

4.    Stress Management: Most of us find a way to manage stress. Physical activity is often a good stress reliever. Hobbies are a great way to relax. Reading a good book can make your troubles seem small in comparison to the protagonist! My favorite stress reliever is playing my ukulele and singing.

5.    Stay Active: Physical activity improves memory and brain health while it strengthens bones and muscles. With a stronger body, you increase your capabilities of being able to perform daily activities. Other benefits of staying active include reducing anxiety and depression while improving your quality of sleep.

6. The New Math: Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia and vascular dementia is the second most common type. Health conditions that contribute to vascular dementia are atherosclerosis (a buildup of plaque inside arteries), heart disease, and stroke. Along with a healthy diet, exercise, not smoking, and limiting alcohol, you need to watch your “numbers.” If lifestyle changes alone cannot improve your numbers, you may need to take medication to treat high blood pressure, lower cholesterol, or prevent blood clots.

7. Stimulate Your Brain: The phrase, “use it or lose it” comes to mind. I recently read an article that said lifelong learning is one of the secrets to a healthy lifestyle. Learning stimulates cognitive ability. Other ways to stimulate your brain are reading, working daily puzzles or crosswords, playing games that stretch your mind, or taking up a new hobby.

As we grow older, we have more health challenges. I like to think that no matter what ailments I have, I am luckier than many others I know.

Age is the number one risk factor for dementia. I have seven decades of information and trivia stored in my brain, and retrieving a pertinent piece of information might take a bit longer than it did when I was younger. Sure, I’ve slowed down, but I’m still moving forward.

Of all the healthy habits we can implement to improve our health, it is important to have a positive outlook on life. I like to focus on the activities I can do instead of the ones that I can’t. Although I’m older today than I was yesterday, I’m younger than I will be tomorrow.

 

Copyright © Feb 2024 by L.S. Fisher

http://earlyonset.blogspot.com

#ENDALZ

Saturday, February 17, 2024

Getting Affairs in Order

At forty-nine, Jim exhibited troubling symptoms, but the first MRI came back “normal.” About a year later, we visited a neurologist who ran a SPECT (single-photon emission computed tomography) scan. The SPECT scan was abnormal and the doctor believed damage could have been from a stroke.

I wrote about trying to find a definitive diagnosis in Indelible, an unpublished memoir:

 Jim began to have difficulty writing. He would write letters but they wouldn’t make words. Most of the time, the combination was close enough that I knew what he meant.

I wanted him to feel useful and to “exercise his brain.” One morning, I was washing the breakfast dishes, and Jim was sitting at the table. “Honey, would you make a grocery list for me?” I nodded toward the pad and pen I’d placed on the table. “We need paper towels,” I said.

He picked up the pen and wrote on the notepad. “We need milk,” I said.

Jim set the pen down. “I don’t want to.” He walked out of the room, and I sat down to finish the list. On the paper, he had printed, “taper powels.”

Later he picked up the list and studied it carefully. “I wonder why I spelled ‘paper towels’ that way,” he said.

Little things began to add up. When we played cards, his mom had to help him pick out the suit. Sometimes he didn’t know which cards were hearts, diamonds, spades, or clubs.

Jim couldn’t dial a telephone number. He couldn’t count his money and had trouble using the ATM. He stopped pumping gas because the pumps had too many options that had to be selected. He couldn’t change the tire on my car, although at one time he could change a tire faster than anyone else I knew. 

Jim did most things slowly and sometimes forgot a step or did something that didn’t make sense. When he intended to make a glass of instant tea, sometimes he would put in sugar and water, but forget the tea. When he fixed a bowl of cereal, he would put milk and sweetener in the bowl but forget the cereal.

Ryan’s was one of Jim’s favorite places to eat. As soon as I paid, Jim would go to the buffet and pick up a serving spoon. He would look around because he knew something was missing.

“Here’s a plate,” I said.

Jim took the plate and scooped up a spoonful of gravy. He backtracked and put mashed potatoes on top. Next, he placed spaghetti sauce on his plate and topped it with a generous helping of spaghetti. He set his plate on a nearby table and wandered back to the buffet line.

Jim was eyeing the soup. “If you’ll bring me a bowl, I’ll get you some soup,” I said. He brought me a plate and I swapped it for a bowl. We found a table and sat down to eat.

“What day is it?” he asked. He had already asked that question four or five times already. 

 “What time is it?” I asked him since he had a watch and I wasn’t wearing mine. He opened his pocket watch and studied the dial. He closed it. “Well?” I asked.

“I have no idea,” he replied.

With the possibility of stroke damage, we set up an appointment with a cardiologist who sent us back to the neurologist for a second MRI. As we waited for the doctor to tell us the test results, we sat in side-by-side chairs in an examining room. We were both scared. I knew I looked as worried, or more so, than Jim did.

The neurologist breezed into the room. “Now, we know why you are having trouble with thinking. Your MRI shows brain atrophy.”

The tears began to flow. “Why so sad?” he asked. “Other people have similar problems and go on with their lives.”

He talked with us for a while explaining the changes in Jim’s brain. “Do you have your legal affairs in order?” he asked.

“No,” I admitted, thinking that question had an ominous sound to it.

He looked at Jim and said, “Jim, if you are not able to make your own decisions, who do you want making them for you—your wife, or some stranger?”

“Her,” Jim said pointing at me.

 We made an appointment with an attorney and he stepped us through our wills, advance directives, health and financial power of attorney documents. Before long, we had our affairs in order. I had no idea how important it was to have those documents until Jim could no longer sign his name or make financial decisions.

Now, all these years later, I’m getting my affairs in order—again. I’ve been meaning to update my documents for several years, but it was easier to put it off than it was to make the appointment and the effort.

What I really should do is pare down my inventory. I need to get more than affairs in order—I need to get closets, cabinets, dresser drawers, and a basement in order.

The ultimate goal is to get my life in order. I want to let go of the time wasters that no longer enrich my life, and to make time for the activities that make life more enjoyable. I want to spend more time with people I love. I want to wake up excited for the day ahead.

Jim used to say that he needed something to look forward to—and for him that was usually a trip to Branson or across country. He was right about that. If you lose focus on the joy of living, life loses its joy.

Getting affairs in order is a reminder that life on this earth doesn’t go on forever. It means getting in touch with your mortality and planning your exit strategy.   

 Copyright © Feb 2024 by L.S. Fisher

http://earlyonset.blogspot.com

#ENDALZ

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Transparency

 

Before the holidays, I bought myself a Christmas present. I happen to like Bailey’s in my coffee, and I found the perfect gift set. One gift set combined a bottle of Bailey’s with a clear coffee cup.

The clear coffee cup reminded me of a business trip Jim and I took to San Antonio, Texas. We stayed at a swanky hotel that served their delicious coffee in clear cups. Jim and I both enjoyed spending time in the lobby drinking cups of coffee to relax. It’s a good memory from one of our adventures.

Anyone who knows me well is aware that the only way I ever start my day is with a good cup of coffee. My pot is on an automatic timer so that I don’t have to do anything but pour the coffee in the cup. On my best days, I get to drink my first cup of coffee in complete silence.

Last week, I rolled out of bed one morning, grabbed my clear cup, put in creamer, and poured a cup of coffee. As I headed to the couch in the kitchen, I lifted the coffee to my lips and before I took my first drink, I realized I had the measuring cup instead of my Bailey’s cup. One good thing about the measuring cup—it has a spout so it was easy to transfer one transparent cup to the other.

The advantage of a transparent cup is that you can see the goodness of the coffee within. Another observation is that I could also clearly see the coffee in the measuring cup, but it didn’t meet my expectations.

People aren’t usually very transparent. Wouldn’t it be awful if your thoughts appeared in bubbles over your head for others to see? So many hurtful things are better left unspoken.

Dementia can erase a person’s filter, and they may say exactly what they think. After Jim quit smoking, he would tell complete strangers, “You better quit smoking those damned cigarettes!” It was what he thought, and it came out of his mouth. I’m sure he was trying to help, but he forgot how huffy he would have been if someone had said such a thing to him when he was still smoking.

Transparency in a relationship means that you can trust your partner, spouse, or friend to be honest with you. You know what to expect and you aren’t trying to guess what another’s motives are. A transparent relationship has open communication and you are confident enough to share your honest feelings and opinions.

Some of us are lucky enough to find soul mates, soul sisters, or friends that can lift your spirits just to hear their voice on the phone. I feel fortunate to have increased my circle of loved ones over the years.

Too often older people can feel isolated and depressed because they suffer the loss of people they love. The most difficult challenge in life is to go on living after a devastating loss. You wake up feeling normal, and then like a lightning bolt your heart takes a direct hit when you remember that you will never see your loved one again. Love hurts, but love heals.

Transparency is an honorable way to live when tempered with love and kindness. Whether your truth is as beautiful as a crystal clear coffee mug or as practical as a transparent measuring cup, life is good when you are loved for being your own unique self.

      

Copyright © Jan 2024 by L.S. Fisher

http://earlyonset.blogspot.com

#ENDALZ

Clean Slate

 Although January is almost over, I couldn’t help but think about how nice it would be to start the New Year off with a clean slate. Some people attempt this by making resolutions and giving themselves mental pep talks to be a better person.

The hard part about starting with a clean slate is that we cannot let go of the baggage we drag along behind us. We can’t stop thinking about our mistakes, insecurities, and failures. We can’t forgive ourselves, much less others.

And what about that grudge? Who is it hurting?

A person with Alzheimer’s has a clean slate in some ways. The most recent memories are the first to go. A woman who was in our support group many years ago was disturbed because her husband didn’t recognize her and thought he was married to his first wife who had passed away. He would say, “Who are you and why are you in my house?” When she told him that she was his wife, he didn’t believe her. In his mind, the woman he had married wasn’t the stranger living in his house. Another man would wander away from his home and show up on his ex-wife’s doorstep. She would invite him in for coffee and call his current wife to come and get him.

These men did not remember why they were no longer married to the same woman they were married to in their younger years. The slate had been wiped clean of the problems that brought about the demise of their first marriage.

Jim and I married young and it was the first marriage for both of us. I never knew the consternation caused by being wiped from his memory. The flip side of the clean slate for recent events is that early memories can return with an unusual clarity. Jim’s PTSD worsened and Vietnam seemed to be in his recent past rather than the distant past where it belonged.

Babies begin life with a clean slate, but early in their development, their slates become intertwined with the world around them. A child’s impressionable mind and curiosity shapes the ideals, beliefs, biases, and personality traits that will last a lifetime. Some people who begin life with bad influences will later learn to reset and change their lives for the better. Genetics and environment muddy our slates.

Wouldn’t it be great to wake up in the morning and begin the day with a clean slate? If we could just mentally wipe away the wrongs we have done and the hurts that we carry in our hearts, we could begin life anew.

It is much easier for me to forgive others than it is to forgive myself. The saddest part of life is when you don’t get a chance to right a wrong. Some people are fragile and it doesn’t take a lot to break them. I will admit that I don’t have a lot of patience with people who habitually look for the negative or are offended when no offense was intended.

I don’t get my feelings hurt easily. I’ve always said that if someone really wants to insult me, they better be blunt and bold; otherwise, I’ll assume they accidently misspoke. That’s about as close as I get to a clean slate.

I don’t mentally rehash insults or snubs, and they fade into the recesses of my mind to be forever banished. I’ve had people apologize to me for some minor incident that I had not only forgave and forgot, but also forgot that I forgave.

Life is much more enjoyable without drama. The best way to stop drama is to wipe the slate clean and start over.  


Copyright © Jan 2024 by L.S. Fisher

http://earlyonset.blogspot.com

#ENDALZ

Sunday, January 14, 2024

Baby, It's Cold Outside

 

Maybe the cold arctic blast shouldn’t be a surprise since I have always lived in the psychotic state of Missouri, nicknamed Misery at times. We are enduring the days of wind chills, snow, ice, cancellations, and danger of frostbite.

I am thankful that I no longer have to drive to work in this kind of miserable weather. I’m a competent bad weather driver, but other drivers make me nervous. I only drive in bad weather when it is necessary.

Jim, on the other hand, loved to drive in bad weather. He liked to “break” the roads, and if we got stuck, he knew someone would come along with a tractor and pull us out. It suited me to have Jim chauffeur me when our roads were drifted or icy.

I was never as confident as Jim when it came to driving on slick roads. When he was in the early stages of dementia, I had him drive me to work a few times.

As Jim’s dementia progressed, so did my worry that he would wander off in inclement weather and die from exposure. As we struggled with the nursing home question, Jim’s wandering was a big consideration. “If he wanders off in the wintertime,” I told my sons, “we may not get to make the nursing home decision.”

Wandering is common among persons with dementia. Among the top dangers is that a person who wanders may die from harsh weather exposure. Caregivers should be vigilant, especially during extreme weather conditions. A precaution that can be taken for those who wander would be to invest in a device that provides a location for the individual. For example, a caregiver or family member could invest in a wristwatch with GPS tracking for their loved one.

Falls are another danger associated with wintertime. I was  Miss Slippy-Slidey but Jim was  sure footed. He was always good to hang on to me to keep me from falling. After Jim passed away, I was walking across the yard and slipped and fell on the ice. My feet flew out from under me and I landed flat on my back, slamming my head down on the ice. I told my sister-in-law that I “broke my head” and I didn’t feel like it was an exaggeration.    

Now, my biggest issue with the weather is taking the dog out. When I took her out this morning in -20 wind chills, I layered layers on my layers. My dog has a thick fur coat and looks at snow as entertainment. She roams around sniffing at the snow, running though a snowdrift, or catching the scent of some animal under the hedges. She sets the tone for our outings and never seems to be in a hurry.

Last night, I took the dog out after dark, and as we wandered through the freshly fallen snow, I realized that I had forgotten my phone. I knew Harold was asleep on the couch and that if I fell…Well, let’s just say that I was extra, extra careful.

Caution is good this time of year, but you can’t afford to lose your momentum. Jim used to tackle the hills near our house by “taking a run at it.” He said, “If you keep steady momentum, you don’t spin your tires.”

Think about it: building momentum and getting good traction could be a life lesson.

 

Copyright © Jan 2024 by L.S. Fisher

http://earlyonset.blogspot.com

#ENDALZ

Sunday, December 31, 2023

Midnight


I used to think of midnight as the “witching” hour, but now I think of it as my absolute latest bedtime. I don’t know why, but it seems that no matter what time I begin preparing for bed, it is midnight before I actually crawl between the sheets.

Every night I go through a mental checklist: I prepare the coffee pot for the next morning, take the dog outside, fill the dog’s feed and water bowls, fix ice water for the bedside, put on my pj’s, take my meds,  brush teeth and use the Waterpik. It almost never fails that as soon as I lie down, I remember something I forgot to do.

Lately, I’ve gone to bed at midnight and awakened at 4 a.m. If I’m lucky, I can read my book for a while, and go back to sleep until a more appropriate hour. I’m pretty sure that the early wake up hour is a carryover from the days when Jim slept an average of four hours at night, which meant that I also slept about four hours a night.

On good days, I get to take a nap. On busy days, I just force myself to keep on going.

Today has been a busy day. I picked up my mom and we went to music practice at my brother’s house. I wasn’t sure Mom would go in the freezing cold weather. During our morning telephone conversation she said that it seemed like she just spent a lot of time in her chair and that she just didn’t feel much like going out. Anyway, she felt like going to music practice.

“I know how you feel. It seems the less I do, the less I want to go,” I said.

I’m always playing catch-up. I have so many tasks I need to do, and then there’s the chores I intend to do, and, of course, there are things I want to do. I want to play my ukulele and sing, so I look forward to practice and to playing at the retirement/nursing homes. We worked on some new material today and the challenge was good for us.

These short winter days throw a kink into my plans. I have trouble driving at night. My eyes have always been sensitive to light and the new ultra bright headlights give me a headache. Our club meetings are after dark this time of year. The drive into town for the last meeting was nerve-wracking, and that was in good weather.

I’m slowing down in my older age. Everything takes longer and my concentration isn’t what it used to be. I certainly cannot multitask anymore.

This is the last day of 2023 and one minute after midnight, we usher in a new year. I don’t plan to set any earth-shattering goals for 2024. I hope that I allow myself to rest when I’m weary, look for the good and overlook the bad, cherish the quiet moments, think happy thoughts, and be kind to others and to myself.

 

Copyright © Dec 2023 by L.S. Fisher

http://earlyonset.blogspot.com

#ENDALZ 

Monday, December 25, 2023

Christmas Mouse and Angel Dog

 


Earlier this month I went to the basement, rummaged through the storage tubs, and decided how many decorations to scatter about the house. In the past few years, the tubs have been moved around due to some plumbing issues, and I often find my decorations right after the holiday.

As I rode the chairlift from the basement, I placed nutcrackers on the shelf next to the stairway. I was a little puzzled as to why I only had three of the four Wizard of Oz nutcrackers. The cowardly lion had apparently gone missing.

I continued to carry up ornaments, the table centerpiece, and various other decorations. I placed the centerpiece on the table and decided I needed to rest.

That evening, Harold called from the hall at the head of the stairs, “There’s a dead mouse on the floor.”

I rushed to see the “mouse” and told him, “That’s not a mouse, it’s a sprig off the dining table centerpiece.” OK, it was dark in the hallway, but really? I know he has trouble seeing, but the mouse would have had to be dead for a long time to turn green.

Later, we decided to begin by decorating the artificial tree that stands in the corner of the living room. Harold handed me the ornaments, and I placed them on the tree.

We leave lights on the “tree” year round and through the foliage, I sometimes miss ornaments. I found an ornament toward the back of the tree. “Oh, look, I said, here’s the Dalmatian angel I bought you when your dog died.”

I only brought up one fiber optic Christmas tree and it required no ornaments. I usually put up the silver Christmas tree that belonged to Harold’s mom and the small tree that was in Jim’s room at the nursing home.

Often, when I walked into Jim’s room, he would be gazing at the Christmas tree. I only put up a tree in Jim’s room and never went overboard with decorating. I’d learned my lesson the last time, I decorated when Jim lived at home. I was removing framed family photos from the shelves in the living room so I could put up Christmas decorations. I turned my back and Jim replaced the photos where they belonged. That’s when I realized that he didn’t want the familiar family photos replaced with the bright and shiny decorations.

I have so many nutcrackers that I haven’t been putting up all of them. Last Christmas I placed nutcrackers on the landing shelf on the west side of the house. I usually later replace them with snowmen and in February show off my elephant collection. Well, I have a hard time on those stairs because they don’t have a stairlift. About October, I thought I really should take down those nutcrackers…but since it was nearing the Christmas season again, I just left them.

I happened to think that maybe that’s where that cowardly lion was, but I looked them over and he wasn’t there. Another trip to the basement, and I found another group of nutcrackers. As I placed them on the shelf, I saw the mouse king. Hmmm, I thought I’d already placed him on the shelf. I took a closer look at the “mouse king” and discovered it was the missing Wizard of Oz lion. Guess Harold isn’t the only one that needs new glasses.

The house looks festive, without being overdone, and I enjoy being in the living room at night with the soft glow of the Christmas lights. When I walk by, I always touch the Angel Dog for luck. It may not work, but at least it doesn’t hurt anything. 

 Copyright © Dec 2023 by L.S. Fisher

http://earlyonset.blogspot.com

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