Welcome!

This is a journal of our lives with my mom, affectionately known as Little Mama. In her 90's, she is a sweet, spunky, spirited, sometimes exasperating, tiny little lady that now lives with moderate dementia and macular degeneration. These journal entries show the good times and the not-so-good times.

Little Mama's type of dementia is age-related and is not hereditary. Sometimes, she appears to be perfectly normal. Other times, it is obvious that something is amiss. It is her desire to remain in our home rather than live out her days in an assisted living facility. It is my prayer that we will be able to honor her in this way. We feel blessed...and challenged...that she lives in our home. This is not easy, and important things rarely are easy. It takes an emotional and physical toll on the caregivers. I've been through the 7 stages of grief at least once if not more! If you are in a similar situation, you understand what I mean! Fortunately, our family helps a lot both physically and emotionally. It takes a team.

The fourth commandment tells us to honor our parents. That is done in many different ways. If you are struggling with a decision, please pray and ask for guidance and wisdom. Our Lord will let you know how He wants you to honor them. Regardless of the way you honor your loved ones, you will need support. So build your team, whether it is from members of your family or a support group.

I am finally learning that: I can't fix it. I can't change it. All I can do is accept it, trust God, and roll with it. (My condensed version of the Serenity Prayer.) We are learning to relax, laugh, and savor every moment we have with my mom on this side of Heaven.

So, scroll down.... read the entries...laugh and cry with us.

Blessings!
Lisa

















Saturday, April 20, 2013

September 2012: BLESS YOUR HEART


September 12, 2012
My mom needed a smile this evening....so I read aloud a few chapters of The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon. She giggled quite a few times! Life is back in balance for her.

September 17, 2012
My little mama gave me the sweet Southern woman's curse this morning.... "Bless your heart." I will continue to call on His Holy Name today..... Lord Have Mercy!

September 23, 2012
I sat and watched my mom this afternoon, wondering what she was thinking. She can't see well, so she rarely looks at the television. Just sorta stares into space. Sometimes a puzzled look crosses her face for only an instant. When I mention different periods of her life, she says she doesn't remember.... Bossier City when Todd was little; Ft. Sill, OK when Richard was little; Louisville, KY where I was born. BUT every now and then, a memory surfaces. She calls my son's youngest daughter by my daughter's name. Dementia is so puzzling. One minute, everything is unfamiliar; the next,we are back in the present. Strange.

Sometimes, she will bury her face in her hands and cry....but I will redirect her. Does no good to tap into a bottomless well of grief and despair.

September 27, 2012
When I awakened my mom this morning, she asked, "I don't have to go to school today, do I?" (She taught school for 20 years…. I wonder if she thought she was the teacher or the student!)
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