See the possibilities the day has to offer.

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks…. I can’t say every day has ended on a good note, but the majority of them have.  Laughter and smiles are often still a norm during her awake times.
One of the questions that popped up in the last week or so for us is:
When do you as caregiver become the full time decision maker and take away one more instance of independent decision making?

I hope we can continue to allow her to make some of the basic decisions regarding her life for a while longer.  Creating space for her to feel some form of independence and still being a whole person and still feel and experience big feelings and know that it’s okay and is a healthy thing.

See the possibilities….

Make something beautiful happen today…

 Despite the cold, the wet or the cloudy, the sun is shining somewhere.  Find the “shine” in your day and make the most of it.

I think we’ve stumbled on the right “formula” and we are “in sync” again.  It’s just taking some trial and error on the caregiver’s part (ME)  to find how things mesh with Mom again as she continues to move forward on her own journey. deeper  and deeper on the pathway of Alzheimer’s.   We are so grateful that the decline is gradual, but that slope is moving into realms of darker days than I think we’re ready to accept.

We are grateful for the beauty we’ve been able to be a part of thus far and hope the beauty of the journey will continue to be one scattered with bits of sunshine  every day.

Connecting….

This isn’t always the easiest thing… during the wee hours of the morning and you know the alarm is going to sound sooner than you’d like…

Last night’s wander ultimately ended back in the bedroom and to the edge of her bed.  I can only imagine her angst in not being able to figure out how to get back into bed.  I watched the monitor for a very short period of time hoping she’d figure out what she needed to do… but it didn’t happen.

She was grateful to see me as I opened her door a little bit wider — happy to hear that the problem she faced was fixable and soon she was tucked safely back in her bed again and within a very short time was sleeping peacefully again, even as I held her hand for a moment longer.  .

I love you Mom.