CAREGIVER NOTE:
Vivid dreams ✓✓
Unmake and remake bed ✓
Dress and undress ✓
It was another one of those nights. I’m really hoping that we’ll see a shift in the circle soon.

POSITIVES:
Sat on the deck enjoying some fresh air for about 30 minutes yesterday
Good conversation throughout most of the day- though I am seeing some faltering in finding words at times
In good spirits for most of the day — no sundowning to speak of, just wanting to go to bed early.

CAREGIVER NOTE:
Another night of wandering… he did make it to the front door but didn’t fiddle with the locks this go round. I’m really hoping we’ll see him go back to the sleep all night cycle again soon. I know I definitely need some more sleep and he does as well.

POSITIVES:
Good appetite for most of his meals
Wanted to watch a western instead of news for a couple of hours (HOORAY!)
Remembered where he’d left his shoes the night before.

CAREGIVER NOTE:

Lots of “what to do” yesterday and overnight. Nothing suggested seems to interest him and he has no idea of what he would like to do. We’ll try a couple of ideas today. Fingers crossed something will be of interest to him.

​Despite the challenges of the day, count your blessings.  There are many.

CAREGIVER NOTE:

He’s been a little gentler the last couple of days. Kinder with his words and trying to listen a little more as he tries to process what he’s been hearing. He has been worried about “losing his mind” a lot more and has been noticing that it is much more difficult for him to get things to “stick.” My heart hurts for him and his children — as we see him drifting further and further into the depths of dementia.

Positives:
Music – he’s really enjoying the easy listening channel I recently discovered. It really does calm him a bit
Clouds – he enjoys watching the clouds and didn’t mind feeling the first few drops of rain before moving back into the house
Antiques Roadshow — he sure is glad we don’t have any of that so called “junk” around here as he’s just not sure what he’d do with it if he had it. LOL

CAREGIVER NOTE:

Much better sleep cycle overnight. He enjoyed watching the news during the day and some pro football last evening before calling it a day. (He was even doing a little back seat quarterbacking during a couple of quarters.) He chose not to venture outside yesterday. He ate really light all day… not sure if that was because he was still having some gut issues from the night before or not. He couldn’t pinpoint his food choices for the day other than they just sounded good.

CAREGIVER NOTE:

He went to bed before dinner last night, but was up again in an hour fully dressed and ready for a “bite.” That bite wasn’t much, so we’ll see how famished he is this morning when he gets up in a little while. We did enjoy dinner out on the deck last evening — the air had cooled and the breeze lightened up while there was food on the table — but even after the food was cleared, we spent another 2 hours just visiting and catching up with a neighbor as the sun went down for the evening. I think he enjoyed the company, but it wasn’t long before he wanted to go inside and talk and then go to bed. He was up again a couple of additional times looking for the dog and asking some questions. He finally settled in about 30 minutes after that — it was a late night for him afterall.

CAREGIVER NOTE:

He enjoyed nearly a half hour out on the deck. The temps have moderated a bit – it’s felt like the end of summer at least for a couple of days. But the heat will be back in another day or so. He enjoyed eating a few blackberries that had been picked and I plan to make a berry crisp with the remaining berries for dinner tonight. They are very good!

No sundowning yesterday, lots of smiles, laughter and joking around. He had a couple of great one-liners that had everyone laughing. Those days are pretty awesome!

CAREGIVER NOTE:
He’s showed some interest in a current creative project – now to find a way for him to help more fully with it as we have at least 75 of each of the components to cut, shape and ink before assembly. I’m hoping I can find a way to have him help and be a part of this project a little more fully. We’ll try a few things today if he’s still interested.

CAREGIVER NOTE:

He got “lost” again last night after a vivid dream and getting out of bed. Thankfully, he was willing to accept the help and get things sorted out and back to bed in just a few minutes. Let’s hope this part of the cycle is short-lived. T will be home today to help, thankfully. Grateful he has quite a few “days left in the bank” he can take.