One of the other facets of our household's daily life includes my mother-in-law. She's lived with us for a number of years. When my older children were small, she was there with them in the afternoons and evenings. Now, we watch her - she's 82 years old and has Alzheimer's Disease.
Her schedule is very different from ours - she goes to bed late and gets up late. It used to be about noon for her rising, but now that her Alzheimer's is progressing, she sleeps more and it's about 2:00 in the afternoon before she starts to stir.
Most of the time, as long as her routine is not disturbed, one can hardly tell that she has Alzheimer's. She can still quote the Bible word for word, even if she doesn't remember sometimes that she's asked you 4 times in the last 20 minutes what day it is. Some things that happen provide a reality check on the seriousness of things to come, and some things are simple, even humorous. We are all glad that there are still a lot of opportunities for the humorous side.
Sunday was one of those kind of days. It was Mother's Day and Grandma was getting herself ready for the cookout we were having. I noticed that she was rummaging around quite a bit as if she'd lost something. She had - her underwear.
When Grandma's routine goes as normal, everything runs quite smoothly and she's normally in good spirits. But when she misplaces something, the whole day goes downhill from there. A small event such as this triggers anxious feelings and muddles her thinking. Because she's upset about the one thing, she's unable to focus on other things, and her repeated questions multiply as well as not having remembered just speaking with someone or what she's done that day.
So, we'd lost our underwear. As best as I can figure, it ended up in a trash can as she had thrown away some trash earlier. We'd already emptied all of it for the day and taken it out. So, I helped her to search through some of the regular places she squirrels things away (another little "quirk" that's developed during the progression of her disease). I did retrieve some of my silverware, my kitchen scissors, some wash cloths, and other sundry items I thought had forever disappeared.
The search was becoming quite intense and Grandma was coming more undone by the minute. I sat down, looked at her and told her that she was just going to have to go commando. The look on the face of this Southern Baptist matriarch was priceless! She did recover quickly, however, and picked up on the fact that I was "funning with her." I still kind of wonder, though, what God thinks about these moments and if he'll make me answer for my little indiscretions later. I'm just hoping he has a sense of humor, myself. And a BIG sense of humor at that!
I did find another acceptable pair of Granny's panties, and the whole day just brightened up from there. I will be going out soon and buying a backup package of underwear, just in case.
Be it known I have prepared myself. In the event I also develop Alzheimer's and end up being cared for by family, God will probably let me know then that he really does have a sense of humor. I'm going to end up with a smart mouthed daughter-in-law, too, aren't I?
Her schedule is very different from ours - she goes to bed late and gets up late. It used to be about noon for her rising, but now that her Alzheimer's is progressing, she sleeps more and it's about 2:00 in the afternoon before she starts to stir.
Most of the time, as long as her routine is not disturbed, one can hardly tell that she has Alzheimer's. She can still quote the Bible word for word, even if she doesn't remember sometimes that she's asked you 4 times in the last 20 minutes what day it is. Some things that happen provide a reality check on the seriousness of things to come, and some things are simple, even humorous. We are all glad that there are still a lot of opportunities for the humorous side.
Sunday was one of those kind of days. It was Mother's Day and Grandma was getting herself ready for the cookout we were having. I noticed that she was rummaging around quite a bit as if she'd lost something. She had - her underwear.
When Grandma's routine goes as normal, everything runs quite smoothly and she's normally in good spirits. But when she misplaces something, the whole day goes downhill from there. A small event such as this triggers anxious feelings and muddles her thinking. Because she's upset about the one thing, she's unable to focus on other things, and her repeated questions multiply as well as not having remembered just speaking with someone or what she's done that day.
So, we'd lost our underwear. As best as I can figure, it ended up in a trash can as she had thrown away some trash earlier. We'd already emptied all of it for the day and taken it out. So, I helped her to search through some of the regular places she squirrels things away (another little "quirk" that's developed during the progression of her disease). I did retrieve some of my silverware, my kitchen scissors, some wash cloths, and other sundry items I thought had forever disappeared.
The search was becoming quite intense and Grandma was coming more undone by the minute. I sat down, looked at her and told her that she was just going to have to go commando. The look on the face of this Southern Baptist matriarch was priceless! She did recover quickly, however, and picked up on the fact that I was "funning with her." I still kind of wonder, though, what God thinks about these moments and if he'll make me answer for my little indiscretions later. I'm just hoping he has a sense of humor, myself. And a BIG sense of humor at that!
I did find another acceptable pair of Granny's panties, and the whole day just brightened up from there. I will be going out soon and buying a backup package of underwear, just in case.
Be it known I have prepared myself. In the event I also develop Alzheimer's and end up being cared for by family, God will probably let me know then that he really does have a sense of humor. I'm going to end up with a smart mouthed daughter-in-law, too, aren't I?