David and I went fishing at Kutawa this weekend..Fished a small.tourney..we were gone overnight...when we arrived back home mother was so excited to see us...she thought we had been gone a month....she thought my pony tail was longer...

Post surgery...doing great

Daddy almost backed out..

Daddy almost backed out..

Mid surgery

Tomorrow I take Daddy for his facelift.....that's right...I said FACELIFT....

They will be lifting his eyelids....Not fair. I've spent most of the day telling Mom all the reasons I was not going to take her....We'll be going to the basement...we'll be on the third floor...it will be a long day....there will be no shopping....the chairs will be uncomfortable....she kept informing me she could keep up...she didn.t mind....she wants to go.....I finally said...Mom...I can.t manage both you and Daddy at the hospital....you will have to stay home...then she played her pitiful card..."I don't mean to be a bother...I didn't know I was so much trouble"

Pulled out my pitiful card...big tears rolling..."Mom, you hurt my feelings when you say you are a bother to me. I just can't do this tommorrow..you will have to understand". I was crying real tears...I don't do that often but today..they poured...

About 30 minutes later, Mom comes over..."Sharon, I don't want to go the Nashville tommorrow...I think it will be too hot and I'm going to stay and help Tracy do laundry and play with Ella...Will that be ok with you if I don't go?"

It's another one of those sacrifices Mom is famous for....she has a way of always making me feel better...she removed all the guilt I felt by acting like she didn't want to go.....Now I know, all of you are waiting for the fairy tale ending. Mom gets to go and we will have a great day..NO...I am not taking her......

Havin a Blast at the Burial...Wish you were here...

I remember the day I knew Mom had Alzheimer's for real.     Really had it.

The day we buried her sister, Ruth Evelyn, Mom and Aunt Chrick were standing in line at the casket, whooping it up and having a big time with all the family and friends who had come to pay their respects. There was food, music, family and friends. I mean what else could you possibly ask for? The service was beautiful and her and Aunt Chrick (who also has Alzheimer's) had a ball.

When we got in the car to go to the cemetery Mom said, "What a wonderful day this has been, good food and good fellowship. I am so thankful. I wish Mother and Daddy could be here. They would have loved this." We buried her parents years ago. As we pulled up at the gravesite for the burial, Mom said, "And a picnic too! I just can't believe how wonderful this all is!"

On that particular day, I knew that we were embarking on a new adventure....A Detour if you will. And I decided to embrace the disease and not let it beat me.  I decided to look at this disease as my Mom always looked at everything in life …with a song in my heart and a smile on my face. 

My biggest battle is trying to understand the mechanics of this disease. I have finally understood, I do not need to know the mechanics. I don't need to know why. I don't need to know how. If Mom had a broken leg, I would not expect her to run. If she was blind, I would not expect her to read. Since she's crazy, why should I expect her to be sane? Alzheimer's has no props, like glasses, hearing aids, crutches, etc. It's unspoken and unseen, so it takes special skills to deal with it.

I hope I can continue to develop these skills. I am learning as I go, but, we are going to make a party of it. Therefore we are on a Detour from Sanity and so far I have enjoyed the trip. I'm living in a sitcom with no commercial breaks!

It takes so little to make Mom happy...a good Baptist Hymn, Ella and an order of McDonald's French Fries...and we all know...The Lord is always at McDonalds..:-)

No..here's my sign...

Here's my sign...

My kids went to Mammouth Cave....I didn't get a tee shirt, but got this really cool helmet.....Love it...Ella claims if I get onto a dark detour, at least I will have LIGHT!

Showers of Blessings

Today I told Mom I would give her a shower when daddy got out of the bathroom..."oh good, I always feel so good and refreshed and then I'll be ready to go anywhere.....". I'm thinking...we are going to have a really good day today..Mom is in the building...hooray...
I return to her apartment 15 minutes later..she's standing at the door..."mom, daddy out of the bathroom?"
"I don't know...Bridge, are you out of the bathroom? Bridge, are you out of the bathroom? Bridge....". I stop her at this point..."mom, daddy is there in the chair, here in the living room..."
"Well, I know that, I'm trying to get him to tell me if he is out of the bathroom!".

But she can still sing every word to The Old Rugged Cross.....Now that's what I call Amazing Grace...

Detours

Have I reached my destination?

Detouring from the Detour

Ok...on detours do you have to know where you are going to take a detour?

If you take a shortcut, don't you have to know where you are going?
If you take the back way don't you have to know the front way?
If you take the Highway shouldn't you have been on the low road?


Do you have to know what you want to be when you grow up to grow up? If that's the case I want to be a famous singer....I've already been a Doctor, a Lawyer, and an Indian Chief. A Taxie Driver, Teacher, Policeman, Life Guard, Tour Director, Chef (questionable), an Accountant, you name it and I have worn that cap....so now I want to be a famous singer..does the talent come automatically as it did with my other professions? Do I need to wait for the opportunity to come knocking? Will I hear the knock? When my concert is close to Paris do I give my friends free tickets and back stage passes?

I think I've been on a detour all my life....is it a better road? Will it take longer to get there? Where was it I was going? How do you know how much money to carry? Can you possibly carry enough money? Do you pack clothes for all seasons? You must only have just so much time to get there...what if you are late because of the detour? I like to carry a cooler when I travel....I believe I will carry a cooler because I like to snack along the way and I don't want to be hungry in case there is some excitement on the detour...

Actually I may take another detour before I become a famous singer and be an AUTHOR....Lee believes that I can blog and people might be interested..just a few thoughts for my Loons to be considering...Lee is coming tomorrow at 1:30 and we may launch a new DETOUR..whatever detour comes tomorrow I'm taking Lee with me....