Yes, it was and IHOP last night. But not before Mom got her shower. Mom did okay at mass, participating in the singing and responses with words and sounds, sometimes catching a repeated refrain correctly. At the Our Father, Mom was able to join in once she got the rhythm and caught the words. She did great. At one point, I gave her a pat to indicate that she should not be playing with the two little girls sitting behind us. Mom was especially pleased that Julie and her friend Steven joined us at church and for dinner afterwards. Mom enjoys being part of the small gatherings but lately, does not interact, even when spoken to, not quite understanding the words spoken to her and not quite able to use words to respond.
That is one of her persona's.
Another persona is the one she displayed when we got home. She went directly to her room and I assumed she was getting ready for bed while we fed the dog, prepared her pills and multi tasked in the kitchen, right off her bedroom. When I went to check on her, Mom was not ready for bed, but was standing between the beds, clearly irritated. I innocently asked her if she needed anything and she let me know that she did not, and said "but I have a problem." And what was the problem you ask, as I did? The problem was that "someone took her crochet hooks." Sure enough, I could not find three of her six crochet hooks that should have been in a plastic pouch. The difference, however, was I did not believe for a second that "someone" took the hooks. No one wanted them. Her yarn was there in the bag but her hooks were not. Joe and I did a cursory search of places in her room and the dining room of places she may have put them but found nothing. Mom was determined that someone took them and did not buy our theory that she had misplaced them, so she told us to "never mind" and silently got ready and went to bed. This persona goes along with the one that insisted a boy stole her stuff and someone else is hiding her clean panties and pad under the mattress.
Again I say that I often do not know what to post here. Our day to day journey is full of moments - moments of joy, moments of humor, moments of mourning, moments of humility to be part of this. And yes, there are moments of exasperation when my quick tongue reacts faster than my compassion. And that is my confession! One of my persona's.
So, at 7:46 at night Mom has had her icecream and pills for the night and is in bed. Tomorrow begins a week with Janice - who not only cared for Mom, but weeded the overgrown beds in the front yard last and cleaned my house on Friday. God is Good! And maybe those crochet hooks will even turn up this week.
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I have been out of town for awhile and have not been on the computer. Howard and I are at the campgrounds till Wed. the 29th of April.
I was talking to a friend of mine whose mother had dementia. My friend said she walked into her mother's room and the nurse was in there. The mother was in the bathroom and the nurse was placing her hands all over the tv. She would move them here and then change places. The daughter asked her what she was doing and the nurse replied that the only way her mom would go the bathroom is if the nurse would cover the eyes of the people in the tv.
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