CAREGIVER NOTE:
YIPPEE things: He can dress himself and take care of most of the hygiene stuff (with an occasional reminder). He can feed himself and make his bed and keep his room clean.
He doesn’t care about cooking things, but does like to have a selection of afternoon and evening snack foods available. His favorites being Oreo cookies, popcorn, bananas, ice cream or cherry pie or a milkshake/smoothie. We’re more than happy to oblige.
CAREGIVER NOTE:
The nightmares are back. He’s spent the last 3 nights yelling in his sleep and it is unintelligible. He doesn’t remember it in the mornings and we’ve chosen not to delve into the “nightmares.” He is more tired when he gets up, however, so I know it’s impacting his sleep. He’s been okay with taking a short walk outside the last couple of days. Hoping that will continue. Grateful he is getting outside and out of the chair even for 5 minutes of fresh air. It will be getting colder soon. He still watches the birds feeding at the feeder and loves watching their antics at time — one seed for me and 15 for my friends below. I’m pretty sure I swept up about 3 lbs of seeds yesterday afternoon!
CAREGIVER NOTE:
We got a walk in yesterday. I’m not sure who celebrated the most, him or me, but it was worth every step! His stamina is flagging a bit and I’m really hoping he’ll be good with another walk albeit a short one, later today when things warm up a bit. Fall weather is approaching and the mornings are pretty cool. He’s all to content to just sit in his chair at the moment and let time pass by. Again, most suggestions for activities are met with a no.
One smile can make a world of difference.
Build in a little self-care time in your daily routine.
CAREGIVER NOTE:
There’s a pattern building…. he’s frustrated, but every suggested solution or suggested activity is thwarted with an “I can’t do that anymore” or “I’m too tired to try.” Not sure if he’s really to the point of not being able to do something or he doesn’t want to try and not be able to complete something successfully as he’s been able to do in the past. Hoping today’s reframe of some suggestions prove successful.
CAREGIVER NOTE:
Laughter seemed to be the keyword for the day. A few jokes and remembered stories. Lots of uh-oh’s and oops! But all done with a smile when possible. I think the sunshine and blue skies helped a lot — we’ve concluded that the day before’s down side was caused by the gloomy weather and lack of sunshine. Here’s to another day of sunshine! 🙂
CAREGIVER NOTE:
When things don’t quite flow as you’d like…. there’s been some “nigglin'” going on in his head the last 48 hours. He’s worrying about some things. We weren’t able to provide the answers he wanted or ease his thoughts much. Hoping today is a better day and we can find a few things he’s interested to keep his mind from going to the worries again.
Greatitudes 