I took the Nativity Set out to the garage. Mom said she was glad the family went home because it was awfully cold for them to be outside.  She did say she missed them, though.

It is so frustrating to have mom remember such trivial things like what she likes for breakfast and forget the more important things like who her kids are. Many days now she asks who I am when I call on the phone. Sometimes, she does so when I visit. What's even more sad is that she knows something is happening to her and she tries to keep you from knowing. She says things like "I was just checking to see what you would say…" or laughing when you answer - since then she already has her answer.

Mom has gone way beyond the color coding of her dead bolt and front door lock. She's gone beyond the needing reminders and writing the top 3 called phone numbers on her trash can next to her chair. She's gone beyond not understanding how to turn her TV on and off without the little slip of paper taped above the buttons telling her what to do….

I wish I had a little piece of paper telling me what to do. I do not want to be the person that has to make a decision about her car, the timing for her to move to a nursing home, or finding her gone. I don't want any of it but sometimes we don't get what we want…. so I will continue to be a phone book thief, chief cook and bottle washer, repetitive question answerer, and daughter as long as I can and as long as she is safe because I do love my Mom.

Birthday Surprise

Well, Mom celebrated her 87th. birthday yesterday and she had a very busy day. Her nurse brought her a cake, her son sent her flowers, she got lots of cards and she got a TON of phone calls. Everyone knows how forgetful she is so they called her more than once - friends, children, grandchildren. Shoot - even her bank sent her a card!

The highlight of her birthday - for me - was when we went out to Cheddars to eat. The older Mom gets, the more she flirts and boy, does she flirt. I figured since it was her birthday, I'd at least try to document this for posterity sake but even I didn't know what I was getting into when I asked the waiter if he would mind letting Mom have her picture taken with him. He said yes and moved in to the booth next to her and no sooner had he sat down than my mom KISSED him. I gave him the biggest tip I have ever given - percentage wise. He was a good waiter besides! Hope he considered the kiss a bonus!

I really have to figure out a way to keep mom from being able to sign anything and have it legal. She really wants to help everyone and there's a person that is really behind in their bills that she has already helped so much that the bank alerted me to the situation. It's the same person that took money out of her account without permission and why we had to change her bank account. What a pain. All those phone calls to reset up all her automatic debits and deposits..... And the person that created the huge headache gets nothing!

Mom's still chasing the imaginary bird out the door. About 6 degrees outside and she is still propping her door open to chase out the black flapping creature. She also put a nice floral wreath outside because she said the bird was living in it. I just put it back in the house.

After holiday sales are great. I wait until the treats are 75% or 90% off and stock up. Mom thinks she's won the lottery! Most go in her lock box but just getting something different has to be nice. If it's sugar she loves it. Some of the websites even believe there might be a link between sugar and Alzheimer's. Don't know. Inconclusive. Like she says, she's 86 and deserves to eat what she wants. I agree - just not whole boxes of the sweet stuff at one sitting!

It's a lot of work keeping up with her doctor appointments, checking on her bills, getting her groceries, making sure one meal at least gets eaten, taking care of meds,... Some days I can't believe I have another job.....

Taking care of Mom makes me feel bad most of the time. I get aggravated - know I shouldn't but can't help it but I try really hard to be patient. I also enjoy her company and like doing some things with her. She is so funny. I would have liked to have known her as a kid. She believes I did some days.... but at least she shares what it was like - at least as much as she remembers. It's sad how much gets lost over the years. Some days I really miss her while she is here.

HEALTHY JUNK FOOD???

Well, Mom doesn't eat very much unless it's junk food so I have resorted to purchasing kid meals at Wendy's for her supper which are about the right size. After she finishes with her meat and potato she doesn't feel like eating her apples so they have been piling up. She says they are too hard to chew which may be true with her dentures but I hazard to say it also might be because she is ready for treats.

Anyway, I hate to waste food so I took several packages of apples and put them in a medium saucepan over medium heat. I added a pat of butter, lots of cinnamon, and enough water to keep the bottom of the pan covered and prevent the apples from burning. After what seemed like forever but was probably only about 10-15 minutes with occasional stirring, the apples were tender and seasoned and I placed them in a large bowl and topped them with the free Frosty I got using my key tags.

The dessert was almost like apple pie just no crust and Mom likes that much better than something that seems healthy. It didn't take much time which was okay with me….

Well, it serves me right for not putting away the Nativity Set on the front lawn. Mom thought they were a real family and got upset that they were just sitting in front of her front door. I guess, from her story, she opened her front door and informed them that they would have to leave - that her insurance didn't cover them. She's kind of upset that they haven't moved on....