give thanks

LIVE

CAREGIVER NOTES:

He noticed the calendar date on his clock yesterday — he realized his birthday is close. He asked how old he would be and kind of shut down. He as been a little more depressed the last few days — but I was linking that to his reminiscing and wanting to talk to family members who had already passed on. I invite him to share a story or memory with me and that often cheers him up. We’ve talked about his Mom’s garden quite a bit lately — he has lots of fond memories of seeing her work in the garden and helping there. That’s probably where he gained his “green” thumb and started building his own skills for his 1/4 acre garden we remember. Our kids remember shelling peas and snapping beans on the living room floor; helping to dig potatoes and pulling weeds.

We’re hoping that his upcoming birthday bash will bring him some joy.

cherish!

CAREGIVER NOTES:

He was certain that his cousin Ernie had visited us just the other day – but he was terribly disappointed that he hadn’t been able to talk to him and “catch up” on things. He hoped Ernie would come around again soon. He wondered what his folks were doing and if they were staying cool like he was with the AC keeping things at a pleasant temperature in the house. I caught him wiping his eyes several times as the tears fell while he talked and shared a story or two. I felt so sad for him. He reminisced about a few things — including his mom’s garden, Ernie’s service in the Navy and more, so we talked about those things a little longer and after the tears stopped a while later, he was smiling for most of the rest of the afternoon and evening.

count them.

CAREGIVER NOTE:

Broadening his scope of TV shows has helped somewhat with his sleeping patterns. He enjoys watching some of the newer shows we’ve exposed him to. He’s not into movies – he gets lost in the plot, an hour long show will hold his interest for the most part.

I’ve noticed recently that when he’s talking on the phone to someone and after he hangs up, he continues talking as if he’s still in a conversation with them, but we’ve become that person. It’s been interesting to listen and contribute to the conversation a little bit but in a different voice. He seems to appreciate the fact that we can help him transition from the call to the next moment without any judgement.

He’s turning 92 in a few days. He’s kind of excited about it – – different feelings from previous ones just a month or two ago.

experience

CAREGIVER NOTE:

Not so many laughable moments the last couple of days, but we have had lots of good moments — good spirits and smiles. He has been missing his news, though. We’re supposed to have a tech arrive in a couple of hours to hopefully “fix” the current issue and resolve a couple of others we’ve been having in recent days.

He kind of likes “binging” on shows he’s found he likes on a streaming channel. I think we’ll try to find a couple of others for those just in case moments we’re bound to have in the future.