Month: September 2023

Autumn is a second spring

…where every leaf is a flower.  Albert Camus

CAREGIVER NOTE:

The mountains to the east of us are showing off their fall colors. He’s amazed at how quickly the leaves have turned into their beautiful colors…. it’s time to start clearing the garden and prepping it for a winter’s sleep. He’s remembering his garden at the homestead and days long gone. Most of the memories are good and a gift to his heart… he’s also missing his family a lot and yesterday was wishing for some companionship from someone closer to his age. Not sure I can pull that one off.


do your best to be your best.

CAREGIVER NOTE:

Confusion about what day, year and season is part of our every day life at the moment. He still can dress and feed himself and occasionally make a sandwich for a snack or meal. He makes his bed every morning and keeps his room tidy. We still try to focus on at least 3 positives that happen in his day — even if most of them have been memories of days long gone. He’s at a loss at times when he realizes he is the last living family member of his generation — He can’t grasp it at times — but then for a moment, it sinks in and the tears roll down his face. We’ve talked about his posterity and the legacy he has created for them. We have a visual idea to share with him. Hoping we can pull it together in the next month or so.

Be a cheerful giver of joy today.

CAREGIVER NOTE:

His face lit up last evening when dinner was placed in front of him. It’s not too often we hit a local fast food joint for a burger and fries (his choice)… there were even enough pickles on the burger to keep him happy. Two bites of the burger and about 6 fries and he was satisfied and done. Some nights he eats really well and others — well, it’s a bite or two and he’s good. Last evening, it was the later while the night before he filled his plate and ate everything he’d put on it.

Conversations down memory lane — a few things are still bothering him about a couple of his uncles that he was very close to while growing up. We looked a few things up late last night during our chat – found a few things he’d like to check out and correct if possible and today, if he wants, we’ll open the book on that side of the family and see what treasures we can find in there.

Hang in there…. 

CAREGIVER NOTE:

It’s definitely fall weather and cool enough that he needs a little more warmth to be comfortable. We flipped the switch from AC to Heat yesterday — he was thrilled! He still wore a heavy sweater for most of the day while things warmed up enough to his liking. He found a bit of loose yarn to play and pull on – thankfully, he didn’t undo any stitches in it while tugging on it or else the sweater might not have been fixable. I’ve re-secured the yarn into the sweater and hopefully, he won’t be minus a sweater on the cooler days that are coming our way for a bit longer this season.

Be your best you today and always! 

CAREGIVER NOTE:

A smile, a few moments of laughter, a good night’s sleep and a rub on the dog’s head a couple of times during the course of his day. Loves his hot dogs and sauerkraut for lunch. Would likely eat it for a second meal if offered that day. Enjoys watching the news — has little interest in much else at the moment. Stories from long ago and “visits” with family members long gone make up most of the conversation when he wants to share what he’s been thinking about.

The weather is changing — Fall temps have arrived as have the rains. No AC needed yesterday and today, we might need to switch the heat on to keep things a little more comfortable for him.