caregiver

just do it….

CAREGIVER NOTE:

The memories were really jumbled yesterday — old ones mixed with what he thought were very recent happenings and his being an active participant helping on the farm. I knew we’d be in for an interesting day when he asked for help in making a call to his brother (deceased) about some family business. I felt so bad having to explain that we couldn’t make the call – but we could possibly look up some of the information and ease his mind a bit.

He took a walk to the garden yesterday and was astonished to see that the corn stalks had grown another 2 feet or more since he was out there last. The cabbage heads are getting larger and will be ready for harvesting in a week or so — about the time the 5 gallon sauerkraut crock arrives. He’s really looking forward to making some sauerkraut again. He found a few ripened tomatoes and wanted the corn checked for readiness. His balance is a little more precarious, so he was extra careful and wanted an extra hand to help as he went around the yard checking things out.

dare to dream

Where will you let your dreams take you?

CAREGIVER NOTES:

Allow the dreams to be fulfilled if you can. We talked about a few of the recent dreams and what we could do to make them happen. He wasn’t sure that he’d be able to do what was needed, but was open to suggestions of how those parts might be taken care of by others. One pressing dream he wants to complete if possible: A family pedigree chart going back a couple more generations…. despite many years of searching he’s not been able to find information beyond his grandfather on his paternal line…. so, we spent several hours on Sunday searching different databases for a few names, but still came up empty. We tried a few collateral options, but to no avail. We thought of some additional options to try in the next few days and he seems satisfied that maybe we can find at least one lead that could open a door to find the information he’s seeking.

make it happen

CAREGIVER NOTE:

Sundowning? Yep, it’s becoming a daily part of our lives. Last night was a little worse than the night before. He chose to take a break (no suggestion from anyone else) and after a few minutes of “quiet” rest in his room, came back and was in good spirits again, even joking around a bit for the remainder of the evening.

Keep your heart open to the possibilities

CAREGIVER NOTE:

Lots of stories and conversations going through his mind. I can see the shift at times during the day when we’re not conversing aloud with each other. His eyes light up with certain memories — he’s always happy to share those with me and it almost seems like he welcomes that opportunity and not turning just sharing the thoughts with himself.