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Leah, even when you have down times, your attitude is amazing. It's got to be tiresome and frustrating and maddening to have dementia. Just remember this, even if you have to paste it on your mirror. You were an educator. You still are an educator. You are teaching so many of us what it's like for someone - even someone like you with your incredible capacity to keep a positive attitude - to have dementia. To live with it and struggle with it. God bless you. You are one of a kind.
Blessings,
Carol
Thank you for your story. My mother has vascular dementia and I find it so frustrating. Somedays I just want to scream. So its nice to hear it from your side
It is so nice to hear from you, Shelley. I know that you love your mother, but it is hard to have to deal with someone with dementia. My husband is very patient with me and most of the time pretty understanding. He can remember my short term memory loss but seems at a loss at times with the associated behaviors. My personality has changed. As my daughter so delicately put it, I have become more child-like. Though I have vascular dementia, I can--I CAN--feel your pain. Your mother may be able to feel it also. Have you talked to her about it? Can she talk rationally? Please keep me posted. I pray that God will bless you with better understanding and increased patience.
Leah
You amaze me for what you do now. Take one day at a time and minute somedays.
I will keep you in my prayers. I think it is so great you write on here like you do.
Take care of your self.
Dear Mother-in-law, writing gives me such joy; I just wish I could write as beautifully as I used to write. My vocabulary is getting a bit more limited...though I try to learn new words--they just don't "take". Your words and prayers are so very welcome. I love to know that others are reading my words and taking something from them! Thanks you for your prayers; please also pray that science will find a way to stop the ravages of dementia!
Leah
As Erma Bombeck used to say....." life is a bowl of cherries....but, ain't this the pits" You are an inspiration to all of us and....I know I have told before...I appreciate you putting into words what I so desperatley try to express.....and will continue to say...Thanks. Although our difficulties are not always the same ....the diagnosis of vascular dementia is. God Bless you, my dementia friend.
Sandy
Hi, Sandy! An acquaintance told me today that she thought I worked so hard helping others because I needed to fit it all in before things got worse. I had never thought about it that way, but I think she hit the nail on the head! Just like water going down the drain, I can feel life shifting around me. I must do all I can while I can. Maybe that is one reason I often cannot sleep and stay up most of the night...not enough time to get all I want to get in...
My best to you, my friend! God bless you!
Leah
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I like your quote. Two weeks ago my mom and I went to a Farmers Market and they had cherries for sale - 3 pounds bags for $3.95 or "cherry pick" your own (
) for $1.49 a pound. What a deal! She chose the pre-packaged cherries. We got home and found that although most were delicious there were some that were soft or not up to our standards.
Sometimes life does not allow us the luxury us time to cherry pick. You just have to look at something in its entirety and try to make an informed decision and ask yourself if it's "worth it".
Some things take time to sweeten...try to be patient and realize their potential and let them ripen to enjoy them to their fullest.
Others are beyond being able to be enjoyed and should not be kept - time will never make them what you want them to be - even worse...they may spoil your whole batch.
Then there are the ripe cherries. The ones that are tasty and bring smiles and satisfaction. Mmmm! Keep them healthy and protect them from getting bruised.
Where am I going with all of this?? Enjoy life in the moment. Try to remove the elements that might spoil your ability to enjoy life. Let past negative experiences go - they will only leave a bad taste in your mouth. Even the sweetest cherries have "pits". However if you look at them for their future goodness they can bring they should be "cherished" and kept. Plant seeds for more sweetness in the future!! That's my cherry (I mean cheery) take on life.
As always I wish you all of the best life has to offer.
- Bill
You have some very profound thoughts for such a young man. Where did you get your wisdom? Are you learning from life, too? I guess, if we're smart, we NEVER stop learning from life and one another for as long as we are lucky enough to be on this earth! Many thanks for your thoughts. I 'm sure they will be ones I will think about in the upcoming days.